Grand National and Cheltenham Sweepstake Kits and Race-Day Gifts

Once a year, the whole country picks a horse. The Grand National at Aintree in April is the race that people who never otherwise bet still have a stake in, usually via a sweepstake at work, in the pub or around the kitchen table. A personalised sweepstake kit turns that habit into a small gift, and the Cheltenham Festival in March is the perfect warm-up.

The races

The Cheltenham Festival is four days of jump racing at Prestbury Park in mid-March. Each day has a championship race: the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday, the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday, the Stayers' Hurdle on Thursday and the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday. The roar from the stands as the tapes go up on the first race is one of the great sounds in British sport.

The Grand National is run at Aintree, near Liverpool, usually in early or mid-April. It is a handicap steeplechase of about four and a quarter miles over two circuits and thirty fences, including the famous Becher's Brook, the Canal Turn and the Chair. Safety changes in recent years have included modified fences and, from 2024, a smaller maximum field of 34 runners. Red Rum, who won in 1973, 1974 and 1977, remains the race's most famous hero.

How a sweepstake works

1. Write every runner's name on a slip once the final field is declared (usually a couple of days before the race).
2. Everyone pays the same small stake for each slip they draw.
3. Draw the slips from a hat, a tin or a personalised bag, and record who has which horse.
4. Agree the prizes in advance, for example 60% for the winner, 25% for second, 10% for third and 5% for the last horse to finish.
5. Agree what happens if a horse is withdrawn: a redraw, a refund or a spare "reserve" slip.

The rules for office and family sweeps

A sweepstake is a lottery in law, and in Great Britain the Gambling Act 2005 allows small private ones without a licence. A "work lottery" can be run among people who work at the same premises, a "residents' lottery" among people who live at the same address, and a "private society lottery" among members of a club. In each case the organiser must not make a profit: all the money goes back as prizes, apart from reasonable costs such as printing. Keep it simple, keep it transparent and pin the drawn sheet up where everyone can see it.

What goes in a personalised sweepstake kit

• A printed sheet or poster with spaces for every runner and every player, personalised with the office, family or pub name and the year.
• Draw slips in a personalised tin or drawstring bag.
• Rosettes for the winner, second and third, and a booby prize for whoever drew the last finisher.
• A small engraved trophy or tankard, kept on the winner's desk until next year, with each year's winner added to the plinth (see our tankard guide).
• A racecard holder or a framed print of the race for the winner.

Odds in one minute

British racing uses fractional odds. A horse at 10/1 returns £10 profit for every £1 staked, plus the stake back: £11 in total. Evens (1/1) doubles your money. An each-way bet is two bets in one: half on the horse to win, half on it to be placed (finish in the top few), with the place part paid at a fraction of the odds. Each-way betting is popular in the National because the big field makes it hard to pick the winner. If someone is placing their first bet for the race, a small each-way stake on a horse whose name they like is all part of the fun.

Race-day gifts

• Tickets for a day at Cheltenham, Aintree or the local course, perhaps in hospitality for a big birthday.
• An engraved hip flask and a pair of binoculars (read our hip flask and racecourse guide first: many courses do not allow you to bring drink in).
• Tweed: a flat cap or scarf for the jumps season.
• A personalised racecard cover or notebook for keeping form.
• A share in a racehorse: racing clubs and syndicates sell small shares that let members visit the yard and watch "their" horse run.

The National and Cheltenham sit at the heart of our UK gifting calendar, and if the office sweep becomes a weekly habit, our guide to running a lottery syndicate explains how to keep a bigger pot organised.

Written by the Ribbon & Tag editors.