It was another first for Mayfield, the first time horse racing has been to the village. But this was not horse racing like we have at Uttoxeter where you are standing outside on a chilly day with a pair of binoculars to see horses start off from across a very large field. This was horse racing in the comfort of the Memorial Hall where you could have your little flutter whilst looking at the race on a big screen drink in hand and all in comfortable surroundings.
Raising funds for the MRA and Mayfield Football Club
It all took place on the evening of Saturday the 22nd of July, and it was a special event to raise funds for two important Mayfield groups, Mayfield Football Club and the MRA, Mayfield Recreation Association. The evening was generously sponsored by Kay & Co hairstylist in Ashbourne and each race had an individual sponsor, which meant that all money raised on the night could go direct to the two groups.
A large and happy group of race fans await the first race, drink or two in hand. The doors opened at 6:00 PM and by the time the first race started at 7:00 PM the hall was packed with well over 100 people who had all paid their £7.50 entrance fee in support of the two groups and this entrance fee also included a delicious meal cooked especially for the event by the Royal Oak at Hanging Bridge – and that’s something you don’t find at Uttoxeter Races.
How it Works
Your reporter, like most people at the event, had not been to an evening of racing so first off we all got an explanation from the organisers as to what would happen. That would be 8 races in the night and each race had eight runners which unsurprisingly had numbers 1 to 8. For each race you have the opportunity of betting on any of those numbers and a percentage of the betting total would be given as a donation to the Football Club and MRA. The queue to place your bet was quick to form as each race was announced. All the rest of the betting money would then be given back to the winning numbers. So the number that most people chose to bet on became the favourite and paid out the least and the number that the fewest people chose became the outsider and paid the most should it win.
As well as betting on the individual race, you also have the opportunity at the start of the evening of becoming an ‘owner’ on one of the horses for some of the races. You paid £5 to become the ‘owner’ of the horse in an individual race and if that horse won you doubled your money to £10. So, this was all based on pure luck, and everyone had a chance of winning.
Piglet and Afghan Hound Races
To ensure it was completely above board the individual races on offer that evening were chosen at random by members of the audience so no one knew exactly what race would be coming up until after the betting had finished, The chosen race was set up on the big screen on the stage and we were off, the race complete with commentary and of course cheers and support from the audience in the hall. The races were a mixture of flat races and over the jumps and it was fair to say that as well as traditional horse races we also had a greyhound race, an Afghan hound race, a trotting race and even a pig race, with the little toy jockeys mounted on the pigs’ backs.
Just before each race started the organisers had totted up exactly how much money had been bet on which horse/dog/pig and what the odds were. On average the most picked number which became the favourite paid out odds of 3 or 4/1 and the least favourite with odds of 6 or 8/1. You could bet as much as you liked starting at £1, which many people did, with some people putting a fiver on each race knowing that the more they bet the more they gave to the football club and MRA.
Halfway through the evening the meal arrived, a large homemade beef or chicken burger, complete with salad and dressing and really delicious homemade chips. After the excitement of the first four races a pleasant calm settled over the hall as the food was eaten and tales of how much people won were told across tables. All eyes on the screen for the race – if that’s the one you have a flutter on!
The very last race of the evening contained a surprise – an auction for the ownership of each horse about to run. Unlike the other races where your £5 ownership fee could win you £10; for this race 50% of the money raised at the auction would go directly to the winning horse!
This started a lighthearted, but very intense auction between different groups for ownership of each of the eight horses. It was another way of raising funds for the groups and at the end of the auction the eight owners knew that if they won, they would get a staggering £200 pound prize money on that one race. It made for an exciting climax to the evening, although I suspect much of the winnings may well have been spent at the bar in celebration.
It was a great evening, a lot of fun and talking to people there it seemed that most people had at least one winner in the evening. Just for the record, the most popular winning numbers were 1 & 4 with two races each and numbers 2, 6, 7, 8 with one race each. Numbers 3 & 5 were the unlucky ones in case you are thinking of going to such an event – but then its just luck….. isn’t it?
by Stephen Dunn