Editing Spring Racing Carnival (section)

==Sweeps==
The carnival, and particularly the [[Melbourne Cup]] attracts the interest of many people otherwise uninterested in horse racing, and special forms of very low-stake gambling are often used for this event.  One common form for groups such as office staff is the "sweep", where each participant adds a small fee to a "pot" and draws the name of a horse like a raffle.  Prize money is distributed to the person who draws the winning horse (occasionally smaller prizes are awarded to placegetters and the last-placing horse).  A more complex and high-stakes form of the sweep is the "Calcutta", often held as a fundraising event for community organisations, which begins as in the sweep (though usually with a much higher initial stake), but which allows ticket holders to trade their tickets through an auction system.