Habersham County United Way's Night at the Derby

Join us in Cornelia for a unique evening of mock horse races, Kentucky inspired food and drinks and lots of fun as we raise funds for the Habersham County United Way's 2019-20 Annual Campaign Drive-"Change Today-Hope for Tomorrow". The Night at the Derby, presented by Springer Mountain Farms, promises to be a stellar night as we continue to work together to make Habersham County a great place to work, live and raise our families.

Fun activities all evening including 8 mock horse races, Dapper Dan & Best Ladies Hat Contest, Sipping Mint Juleps, Derby Photo Booth, Raffle Prizes and more!

Fun ways to get involved in advance:

Buy tickets to the event! Individual tickets are $50 per person and includes: Kentucky inspired heavy hors d’ oeuvres, 1 bar beverage ticket, 1 raffle ticket & $10 in Derby Dollars. This event is a cocktail reception style affair and will have VERY LIMITED SEATING/TABLES available for a premium price. Full tables must be purchased for reserved seating: Downstairs Tables for 8 @ $500 with live video/audio feeds playing downstairs. All other seating and cocktail tables are first come and will be limited to allow for easy movement and flow during the event.

Buy a Horse and reap the benefits of being an owner with fun prizes for each race winner owner.

Millionaire's Club Horse Owner $100-(Naming rights to your prized steed, 1 admission ticket & 5 raffle tickets)

Horse Owner $25 (Get creative and name your hopeful! Winning owner wins $25 Derby Dollars when winning a race. 

Sponsor one of 7 races $200 (2 admission tickets, 10 raffle tickets & a business card ad in program)

Name a Champion Jockey $10

See partnership opportunities at www.habershamunitedway.org.

What to Expect at the Night at the Derby:

Not sure what to expect at the Night at the Derby? Here are a few things to help prepare you for a fun filled night of mock horse races and the finale fundraiser for the Habersham County United Way’s 2019-20 Campaign.

1. Bring cash, check or plastic to purchase Derby Dollars to place wagers, sponsor any open races, buy horses or to purchase alcoholic beverages.

2. Doors & Bar open at 6:30 PM. Heavy hors d’ oeuvres starting at 7 PM. Post time for first race is at 7:30 PM.

3. There will be 6 virtual horse races using pre-recorded video of actual horse races. Each of the virtual races will have 12 horses running in each race. Each attendee will receive a race program with the list of horses in each race. Horses are available for sale, and if your horse wins the race, you receive $30 in Derby Dollars*. Races 7 & 8 will be live races using dice and wooden horses. Race 7 is a Second Chance Race where all losing tickets are collected after each race to pull 8 lucky winners as the horse owners for the first dice race. Race 8 will have all but one horse live auctioned prior to the race. The 8th horse will be drawn from our Lucky 8 raffle. Raffle tickets for the 8th horse in race 8 will be sold through race 6. The final race winner will win $500 in Derby Dollars/50 raffle tickets. For more info on purchasing a horse or sponsoring a race, contact Connie Foster at conniefoster@fieldale.com or Heather Sinyard at heathersinyard@fieldale.com.

4. Anyone can bet on any horse in each race. Bets are $2 in Derby Dollars ($1 purchases 1 Derby Dollar). Winners from each race will be paid in Derby Dollars.*

5. There is no limit to the number of horses you can bet on in a given race. You can also bet multiple times on the same horse if you so choose.

6. The 8th race is an auction race. Ownership & naming rights goes to the highest bidder in the auction. High bidder gets the 1st choice of horse number. Next horse is auctioned & so on...The last horse in this race will be a raffled item. Purchase tickets before the start of the 7th race.

7. Lots of fun side games and activities to help us raise even more money: great raffle items and more!

8. Individual tickets are $50 per person and includes: Kentucky inspired heavy hors d’ oeuvres, 1 bar beverage ticket, 1 raffle ticket & $10 in Derby Dollars. This event is not a sit down event, but will have a very limited number of tables available for a premium price (Downstairs tables for 8 @ $500 with live video/audio feeds downstairs).

9. Throughout the evening all Derby Dollars won can be exchanged for raffle tickets for various prizes. Each raffle item will have its own collection bucket, so you can choose which items you want to try to win and play as many raffle tickets in an item as you want. Winners of raffle items will be drawn at the end of the evening. Winning ticket holder must be present to win or have a representative for your ticket present.

10. Dress code is Derby smart casual. Bow ties and big race day hats are encouraged. We will have a voting station for the best Dapper Dan and the Best Big Hat with fun prizes for the winner.

*Derby Dollars can be cashed in for raffle tickets to win prizes. $5 in Derby Dollars = 1 Raffle Ticket

For more information on the event, contact our Campaign Chairperson, Connie Foster at conniefoster@fieldale.com, or the United Way Office at 706-778-0620 or by email at habuw@hemc.net.