Stansted Village Hall hosted a Race Night on 25th February 2023 to raise funds and to provide a fun evening for those attending.

This was the latest in a series of race nights over the years since 2010 and organised by the Village Hall Committee which is chaired by Will Peat. There has been a theme for each night, often royal event/major sports event/horse racing linked and there are prizes for best dressed punter and best dressed table. On this occasion 12 tables of eight people each assembled to bet on pre recorded races and to eat and drink. Participants brought their own drink and food was supplied by Sheila Goodworth and Jo Moore.

Each race comprised eight horses and bets were available at £1 each at the Tote. The total takings were top sliced by the organisers and the payout was the remaining sum of total bets divided by the number of tickets sold on the winning horse. Each of the first seven races was sponsored as was each of the horses in it. The owner of the winning horse in each race also wins a prize. The horses in the last race were auctioned by Hilly Withenshaw who also operated the projection technology.

Each table was also able to predict the outcome of all eight races with a substantial cash prize going to the table with the most winners. This was won by the author of this article and almost exactly compensated him for his losses on everything else he had bet on!