Hello everybody

Has anyone done a race night before? I have one on Friday (only asked to do it on Sunday) and I just wondered what people did/how they go..

I have spoken to the venue manager who showed me one of the tapes etc and how it works - but anyone got anything they can think of to keep interest in the evening?

Any phrase that pays?

The night has been advertised so there should be a lot of people there - I just wanna make sure they stay!


Cheers!!!

Ideal situation.

Quote £x, get someone in for £x less £x and stay at home and get paid the difference, no worries.

I always pay people to do these sorts of gig, karoake etc and either just do the bits I know, or stay at home and get paid a little.

Probably not the answer you wanted but I try and keep it simple, pay someone who know what they are doing and you get repeat bookings, I would rather earn £20 seven times and do nothing than earn £150 and work once.

A simple thing...Countdowns...no, not the 5,4,3,2,1 pefore you press play, but letting people know that they've got 10 minutes to place a bet/get their drinks in etc, 5 mins, 2mins etc... it helps to build the anticip.....ation.

I've hosted some Slot-car racing nights where all "the lads" would "qualify" (or crash) early on in the evening, while the desserted girls and mums would take to the dancefloor, then in the quarter/semi/finals you lost your entire audience to the trackside. That was the pits.

Tell us more about the proposed structure of the nights, eg: Are you planning on doing 1 x 5 minute race every 30 mins, or 3 x 5 min races together, then music/dancing for 45 minutes...etc... How many races per night are people going to see/bet on?

If YOU have been asked to run it, then YOU should really be the one doing it... Just make sure you mingle with the punters, take their bets and just be friendly and jovial!

...just to add to that tonsk, In my experience, the type of people who attend race evenings arent looking for Mr Personality to entertain them.... they are there to have a bet, watch a race and hopefully, win some dosh!

Hi,

I have done many race nights in the past, and still host the odd one.

there are many legal requirements that you must know.

1. that a race night is a lottery under the gaming act
2. you must take all bets before the race is selected.
3. a member of the public must selec the tape
4. the odds are calculated under tote rules, which mean that if 100 tickets at £1 are sold and 40% is deducted for the chosen charity then that will obviously leave a winning tote of £60.00.

if 2 tickets for horse number one are sold, each ticket will obviously be worth £30 each, and if 30 were sold for horse 2, each ticket would be worth £2 if that horse won & so on.

Tips on the night, keep the night running smotthly, most race nights have 8 races, split these equally throughout the night, and keep to the time as it is very easy to overrun (remember each race takes 5 minutes to run)

if you want to chat with me call me or pm me & I'll discuss it further with you

I am assuming that some ome else is RUNNING the race night and you are booked for the music in between, I hope, follow the AOR radio format unless asked to do anything thing else.
I used to do these years ago, you are just fill in between races, Keep it friendly, theres a lot of losers out there.

If they want you to run it.... make sure that the approriate licenses are in place, or you might get a slapped wrist.

Mikee, no licenses are needed to run a race night as it is a lottery, but there are rules relating to the advertising, and how it is run. and on the betting

this is taken from the governments web site Department Of Culture

Race nights

This fact sheet covers some of the usual questions asked about race nights. It is not a definitive description of all the rules and regulations that apply to race nights. Reference should be made to the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 for precise details of the law.

Definition of a race night

Race nights are events in which participants stake money on the outcome of recorded races and where the selection is totally dependent on chance and where no "odds" or "form" are available to assist the selection.
Proceeds go to purposes of the organisation or a charitable purpose but are not for private gain or commercial purposes.

How to run a Race night

It is usual to run a race night as an amusement with prizes under section 15 of the Lotteries and Amusement Act 1976.

The race night must not be the sole attraction and must be part of an exempt entertainment such as a bazaar, sales of work, fete, dinner dance, sporting events or similar gatherings.

There are certain conditions set out in section 15, which must be observed when promoting and conducting a race night as an 'amusement with prizes at an exempt entertainment'. These are listed below.
The race night must not be the only, or only substantial, inducements to persons to attend the entertainment.
The whole proceeds of the entertainment, after deducting the expenses of the entertainment, must be devoted to purposes other than private gain
The hire of any machinery to run the race night can be defrayed from the proceeds but not if it is made in some way dependent upon the extent to which the equipment is used. For instance profit sharing arrangements between equipment manufactures, hirers and promoters would not be allowed.

There are no registration requirements.

here are some extracts from my information sheets


How the betting works

You will need a float of £50 (mixed silver and £1 coins).
Tote Tickets are sold at 20p/25p/50p/£1 each, the choice is yours - stick to one price throughout the event.
Using our numbered tote tickets makes it easy to fill in the win tabulator forms an calculate the total tickets sold
After the explanations the betting is opened on the first race - the Compere should keep the betting flowing - and announce a countdown to the close of the Tote.
When all bets have been placed you officially close the betting and enter onto the Tabulator Form the closing ticket number on each horse.
Before the night you should have decided what percentage of the betting you are paying out. Most race nights pay out between 70% and 75% of the amount staked, the profits going to the charity or organisation you are raising funds for.
As an example let's say the tickets have been sold at 25p each. A total of 301 tickets have been sold on the race: 301x25p = £75.25.
A 75% payout is being made: 3/4 of £75.25 = £56.54 (please note the rounding up and down of payouts).
No.5 is the favourite = 60 tickets sold; £56.54 divided by 60 = 94p No.3 is the outsider = 18 tickets sold; £56.54 divided by 18 = 3.14p
For ease of operation the payout on No.5 could be rounded up to £1.00 or down to 90p.
The payout on number 3 could be rounded up to £3.20 or down to £3.00.
At the end of the race you announce the amount being paid out on each winning ticket. Ask all winning ticket holders to go to the payout desk. Some of your stake money should be transferred ready to make it a speedy payout.
When all winning tickets have been paid out, you open the betting on the next race.

AUCTION RACE
If you have sold all the owners on the last race of the evening (Race 8) have "An Auction Race". Sell the ‘Trainers’ to the highest bidders. winning trainer in the race receives 50% of the monies raised during the auction. Your charity keeps the rest.


ABOUT THE EVENING
The Race Night is available in different packages, the most popular comes complete with a Compere, Video Projector, Giant Screen, and 8 Video’s each showing a single horse race. They are produced in full colour, and come complete with commentary. Or if your venue has it’s own big screen, this can be utilized

Here Is The Lagal ReThe races each have 8 horses identified by number only. The Video’s are shown at a special race evening or afternoon arranged by your organisation. Your guests bet on which horse number they think will win. All the Bets are handled by a Tote (betting desk), and we can supply someone to organise this for you. Your profits come from a percentage of the bets, the enterance fee, race sponsers, and selling the owners and trainers (explained later) Each Video is sealed so that nobody knows which horse will win. and is selected at random by one of the audience after the betting is complete. The seal is then broken and the race shown. That’s when the excitement really begins as members cheer on their own horse.

HOW TO RUN A RACE NIGHT
A Race Night is very simple to run. The Compere explains how the betting works and runs the Introduction Video on the Screen so every one understands what is going to happen. Once all bets are placed a Race Video is picked at random, break the seal, load it, dim the lights and they're off!


While the race is on, the payout is calculated. Race over, lights up, and the winners are paid out at the cash desk. After about twenty minutes for the betting to take place on the next race, then it’s lights down, and we're off again.


This will provide answers to many of your questions, as well as providing loads of hints and tips to make your RACE NIGHT the success you hope for.
HOW MUCH CAN YOU RAISE?
The example below shows what you can raise with Just 70 guests attending an 8 race event
BEFORE THE EVENT
Admission Tickets @ £2 each £140.00
Horse Ownership @ £5 per horse £320.00
Race Sponsorship (@) £15 per race £120.00

ON THE NIGHT
30% of Tote Sales @ 5Op per ticket
(average spend £1.50 race) £252.00

50% Auction Last Race @ £30 per horse £129.00
------—
Total Funds Raised £952.00
(Note: This Is Just A Guide and can be more or less, & your tote tickets can be sold for more to increase your profits)
Legality
To ensure your event falls within the conditions of the Lotteries and amusements act 1976 (Amusements with Prizes) for which no Licence is required, we advise you check the "Department for Culture, Media, and Sport" web site for Race Nights
http://www.culture.gov.uk/gambling_and_rac...race_nights.htm




HOW TO PLAN YOUR RACE NIGHT
The Venue & Publicity.

You need a enough room to allow an informal layout and to ensure people can move about easily, but with a good view of the Projection Screen, we can supply a second projector and screen if required. The Tote and Payout desk can be in located any where.

Planning your Race Card
We print the race card for you as long as we receive the details 7 days before your event.

Your "RACE CARD" should list all the races to be run and horses running in each race. Since the horses are identified by number only, it does not matter which Video is chosen and which names are on the race card. More importantly the Race Card is a valuable source of income. Used Properly it can cover the cost of your event, and more.

you can sell the race card on the evening for say 10p to £1 or include it with your admission fee.
you can get local firms to sponsor each of the 8 races, for say £10 or £15. They can have the race named after them e.g. "Fred Bloggs Cup".
you can sell the horses to members.
They become the "owners" and their name and choice of horse name are shown on the race card.

If their horse wins the race they win a prize.(payed for out of the sale of owners) If you can't sell them before the event, you can try and sell them on the night.



you can all wake up now

Thanks very much for all the responses to this!!

Your all stars!!

The race night has been organised by the hotel (for charity) and they just need me to compare it.

They are aware that I havent done one before but are desperate and don't mind... Plus the fact that until you do one, you will never learn...

All in all I think it mainly involves a lot of waffle and hype trying to get the people to part with their money...

And waffling I am very good at - I can bore anyone at 10 paces!!!!

So hopefully it will go well.. I have seen the instruction video and one of the actual races so it should go ok... Plus have loads of background music stuff so....

The races themselves are the 8 races for 5 minutes - either hurdles or flat so......

It should go ok.... (He says, fingers, legs, arms, toes and everything else crossed - Trying to figure out how he is gonna get to the venue looking like a human knot...)

That was very informative Ian. I've done a couple of these 'meetings' but only to provide the music. At least now if one comes up where I have to do the whole thing I'll know what I'm doing (or at least appear to).

i also have the tapes etc