Shores firefighters to host ‘Night at the Races’ fundraiser

ST. CLAIR SHORES — The St. Clair Shores Firefighters Local 1744 is hosting a Night at the Races event to raise money for a good cause.

Sean Porter, president of the St. Clair Shores Firefighters Fund, said the Night at the Races is a virtual horse racing event. He said there are 10 prerecorded races picked randomly from thousands of races.

“So you have no idea whose or what horse is going to win,” Porter said. “It’s completely random.”

The union sells horses until the event on Jan. 26 and, Porter said, the winning horse’s buyer doubles their money. There will be 100 horses for eventgoers to buy and a person can buy more than one horse.

“(It is) $25 per horse. If your horse wins, you win $50,” Porter said.

Admission for the event is $60, and it is for adults 21 and older.

Porter said that the winning horse will then get auctioned off. There will be a bonus race, and the winner of that race will double their money as well.

Porter also said that eventgoers can bet on the horses and that allows those who do to win the bet as well. Betters can name their horses any funny name they want, Porter said.

The event will also feature a 50/50 raffle, hors d’oeuvres, drinks and a separate elimination raffle. Firefighter Michael Haddad, a driver and engineer with the St. Clair Shores Fire Department, said they will sell 150 raffle tickets with 50 prizes for eventgoers to win. The grand prize is a seven day stay in Gulf Shore, Alabama at a mutually agreed upon time. Raffle tickets are $100.

“There will be 50 winners, so you’ll have a one in three chance of winning,” Haddad said.

Haddad owns the condo.

“It’s right near the beach, (and the) pool, so it’s a nice condo,” Haddad said.

Winners will be chosen by a random generator. Other prizes include a Detroit Lions basket, jewelry and more.

“You don’t need to be present to win and tickets will be available up until the night of the race,” Haddad said.

The Firefighters Union Local 1744 set up a 501(c)(3) charity a couple years ago, Porter said. He said they started the event in January of 2022.

“The point of doing this was to raise money for one of our firefighters who had retired,” Porter said.

He explained the firefighter left St. Clair Shores to go to another department on the anniversary he was first hired in the Shores. He started at the new department four days after that.

“And then within six months was diagnosed with a glioblastoma and ended up passing away a year to the day he retired,” Porter said. “So we do this fundraiser to raise money for him and his family.”

He said this highlighted a need for a cancer fund within their department.

“That way we can cover the deductibles of our guys, or if it’s any other local firefighters who are diagnosed with cancer, we are able to donate to them,” Porter said.

He also said their 501(c)(3) has donated to a lot of other local charities including the Great Lakes Burn Camp and the Goodfellows of Michigan.

Porter said he’s excited for the event.

“It’s a ton of fun and it’s for an awesome cause,” Porter said. “The fact that we’re able to do this for our community is the reason I love being a part of the 501.”

The event will run from 7 p.m. to midnight at the Blossom Heath Inn located at 24800 Jefferson Avenue. To purchase tickets and horses, and to sponsor the event, click the event’s Google form link.