On Friday night, the West Gym hosted a new sport: teams of students, athletes and community members raced on stick horses in the inaugural “Night at the Races.”

Sponsored by Binghamton University athletics, the event helped fundraise for the Addiction Center of Broome County and raise awareness about substance abuse. Approximately 200 people attended, and more than $700 was raised from admission fees.

The competition was set up in a bracket format, with 38 teams participating. Six participants, clutching stick horses, would line up at a time. There was no actual racing involved; two oversized foam dice were rolled, with one die deciding which lane got to advance and the other designating how many spaces that player advanced. The first player to reach the end of their 20-tile lane was coined the winner of that heat.

Kristie Bowers, assistant athletic director for student-athlete development and an academic counselor in the Student-Athlete Success Center, said that the event itself was an example of being substance-free.

“Everyone who signed up committed to being alcohol-free tonight,” Bowers said. “Obviously, Friday night is a popular night for students. It is a commitment for them to come and enjoy being substance-free.”

The event, created to support local charities, was partially funded by a grant that BU athletics received in August of the previous year. Some of the donations went directly to various charities, including the Magic Paintbrush Project, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the HEADstrong Foundation, in addition to the Addiction Center of Broome County.

A committee made up of student-athletes was responsible for determining how the grant money was used, and they created the event with positive conversations about substance use in mind, according to Bowers.

“They are really trying to change the way in which they’re motivating others to make life changes and make positive choices,” Bowers said. “They came up with the idea for ‘Night at the Races,’ and they have executed everything from signing up volunteers to organizing everything tonight and running it.”

Kennedi Thompson, a sophomore majoring in psychology and a member of the leadership committee, explained that the event was created to show students that they can participate in nightlife without the influence of alcohol.

“The overall idea we were trying to prove is that students can have fun and do other things without drinking,” Thompson said. “One of our fellow athletes passed away earlier this year. [We wanted to] bring more awareness and create a different, fun idea to bring people together that hasn’t been done before.”

Sydney Harbaugh, ‘16, played softball at BU and is now an athletic communications assistant on campus. The team sponsored a young girl with brain cancer through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, who they have supported for five years. Harbaugh said that the event was in line with the values of the athletic community at BU.

“I really think that this group is going to help set a leadership tone for the athletes in general, from all different teams,” Harbaugh said. “Everybody loves raising money for charity and this helps all of us come together.”

Two of the top three finishing teams were created by the men’s lacrosse team, and their donations went to the HEADstrong Foundation which works to improve the quality of life for cancer patients. The other top finisher was a team created by a local family, who chose to support the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.