Today's the first (onya bingley) Tuesday in November. The day that the race that stops a nation (The Melbourne Cup) is run.

Like millions of other Aussies, today's the only day of the year that stales and his family put money on the outcome of a horse race. And, all across the nation, people are buying tickets in a sweepstake at their place of work.

I presume that the term sweepstake is in global use but just in case, it refers to a kind of lottery in which you contribute a small fee (generally $2 or $5 per ticket) to receive a horse's name drawn out of a hat. There are as many tickets as there are horses in the race and, if yours is scratched before the race, too bad. There's generally 4 prizes, first, second and third as well as a "donkey prize" of your money back for the last place getter.

Anyway - can anybody tell about the term "sweepstake" - origins, geographic usage etc.

stales