A night at the races

An evening of horseracing in celebration of Imperial’s Centenary and to raise money for the College’s Student Opportunities Fund took place on Thursday 27 September.

The ‘Runners and Riders’ Benefit Dinner attracted over 650 guests from more than 80 of the College’s major advisors, suppliers and consultants and proved to be one of the biggest fundraising events of the Centenary year.

The College Big Band provided entertainment and champagne and canapés were served as guests arrived. The attendees, along with some 70 hosts from across the Support Service teams, then moved on to a marquee on the Queen’s Lawn to enjoy a four-course dinner before the horseracing began.

Six feature races were shown over the course of the evening with a total of eight horses competing in each race. Guests placed a minimum bet of £2 on their favoured horse and were encouraged to donate their winnings to the Student Opportunities Fund.

The Student Opportunities Fund is acts as a gateway for financially disadvantaged undergraduate and postgraduate students around the world who might otherwise be unable to take up the opportunity of an Imperial education. Since it was established in 2003, the fund has raised over £1million from the College’s alumni, staff and friends and as a result, ninety-seven students have benefitted from scholarships.

Dr Martin Knight, Chief Operating Officer, said: “The main purpose of the Runners and Riders Dinner was to raise money for the Student Opportunities Fund but it was also an opportunity to thank the partners that we work with.” He added: “In our Centenary year, the money raised will inspire the next generation of great minds. Thanks to the generosity of organisations that attended the dinner, more students will have the chance of attending Imperial College.”

The event raised a fantastic total of £41,000 for Imperial scholarships, enough to begin a campaign to make the event an annual occasion.

Sponsors of the first three horses in each race also won prizes which included two return tickets on the Virgin Atlantic network, an Apple laptop computer, a weekend for two in Edinburgh and a satellite navigation system.

The event was supported by a number of companies, but the organisers were particularly grateful for the support from the ‘Ascot’ sponsors: Arup Project Management; Laing O’Rourke; Prolinx; Savills and Unite.