By Martin Walker
Darlington players have organised a Race Night to do their bit for the proposed community club.
The Quakers troops have been overwhelmed by the support of Darlo fans in the last two months since the club was placed into administration.
A staggering £17,000 has been made from donations alone via fans’ website Darlo Uncovered, and thousands of pounds was handed over to players at Barrow in January.
Now the players, headed by Graeme Lee and Paul Arnison, have organised a Race Night at the club next weekend to raise funds.
As well as the event itself, which has been sponsored by Screentech, they’ve pooled their contacts to gather Premier League and Championship shirts to auction.
All proceeds will go to Darlington FC 1883 Ltd, the new company aiming to buy the club.
Kit man Andrew Thomson, who’s also organising the Race Night, said: “The players just want to do their bit.
“They’ve been taken back by the fans, they’ve been unbelievable, so they want to raise a bit of money for the new club going forward – it really is all of us in this together.”
The Race Night is being held in the Ron Greener Suite after the Stockport match next Saturday (March 3), from 7pm, with the first race at 7.30pm.
Tickets costing £10 each, including Pie & peas supper, will be available from the main reception from Monday morning.
There will be eight races, including two auction races. Winning bidders get a corporate box for a game of their choice, while winning horse owners get a players’ match-worn shirt of their choice.
There will also be raffle prizes on the night and an auction of Premier League and Championship shirts.
Fans can sponsor a horse for £5 each – either online via Darlo Uncovered or in person at the Arena next week.