ALL members of the Mini and Junior Sections (and indeed, the Adult Senior Section of the club) are encouraged to attend the Donkey Derby Race Day on Sunday 20th April from 12:30 onwards. All proceeds will be ploughed back into junior rugby at the club, and we don't organise that many 'socials' so hopefully we will have a full turn out after training on the day.

Basically, what happens is this:-

Entrance is by purchase of a race card (£2 Adult, £1 Child or £5 Family). There are 6 races which have been pre-sold and sponsored (that means we've already made £300 - Thanks, Duncan!). There are 6 horses in each race. Now for the fun part. The 'jockeys' are the mini and junior players, but they don't ride real donkeys, they 'wind in' a 'donkey' attached to a wooden sledge with a length of twine - the winner is first past the post. Now, how do the kids become jockeys? Well, they purchase a raffle ticket for £1 and the ticket goes into a pot. Prior to each of the 6 races, 6 raffle tickets are drawn and the lucky holders become jockeys! Easy... and great fun - the races are extremely competitive and noisy, which all adds to the excitement. The winning jockey receives a rosette and the winning 'owner' receives a bottle of wine. After the 6 races there is a Champion's Race (comprising the winning jockeys from the first 6 races). The final race is a bidder's race. The 6 jokey slots are auctioned - obviously any child who has not been drawn as a jockey in the previous races can bid (or get their parents to bid) for a saddle. Each lane is auctioned one at a time until all 6 lanes are filled (this can raise quite a lot of money!).

Whilst all this is taking place, each race can be bet upon at the 'bookies' on a table in the corner. You purchase raffle tickets for the 'donkey' you fancy (following any necessary handicapping) at 50p per ticket. The tote pot for the race is then split 50-50 with 50% going into the club coffers and the other 50% shared equally among the winning ticket holders. Hopefully the Colts lads will volunteer to organise the bookies.

It is also possible that we might hold a raffle if enough people are willing to donate prizes (no matter how small - all donations are gratefully recieved)

By the end of the afternoon we hope to have raised in excess of £500 profit which will be ring-fenced for the use of the Mini/Junior section.

If you would like to help out on the day in any way, please contact Pete Heath at the earliest opprtunity.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EVENT TAKES PLACE STRAIGHT AFTER TRAINING, SO THE KITCHEN WILL BE OPEN TO SERVE A RANGE OF QUALITY MEALS AND SNACKS AT A VERY REASONABLE PRICE - NO NEED TO GO HOME - HAVE A LEISURELY LATE SUNDAY LUNCH FOR A CHANGE!