But at the Willow Tree Hotel in Scone, the occasion was a chance to give back to the community.

Cup fever brought a healthy crowd of around 250 together last Thursday night as publican Ian Campbell coordinated a successful Calcutta and auction at the hotel.

At the end of the night the final figure was $3170, donated to community group Friends of Strathearn who raise funds for the comfort of local residents in aged care.

Mr Campbell has been coordinating the charity Calcutta for a number of years, however it’s the first he’s held since taking over the Willow Tree Hotel.

“The reason we do it for the Friends of Strathearn is because it’s a great charity that puts back into the Scone community and we can see where that money is going locally,” he said.

“We try to put a lot back into the community, because they do a lot for us.”

Dawson and Dawson Realty, Ray White Scone also jumped on board as a sponsor of the event this year, which has grown in community support.

“It was extremely well supported considering the weather we had,” Mac Dawson said.

“I think it’s the coldest weather we have had for Scone Cup since 2006.”

The auction boasted some great items including racing memorabilia, most noteably a photograph of Winx signed by jockey Hugh Bowman donated by the Willow Tree Hotel, a Hunter Valley Resort Hotel Crown Plaza voucher donated by Kia Ora Stud and a Darcy Doyle print donated by George and Yvonne McCready.

Friends of Strathearn’s Virginia Mulcahy thanked Ian Campbell for his generosity to the community.

“We’d like to say a very big thank you to Ian Campbell for hosting the event,” she said.