Frequently asked questions

When you press Start, the complete finishing order is drawn by a cryptographic shuffle (crypto.getRandomValues driving a Fisher–Yates shuffle). The animation then plays out that order. Because the draw is made before any frame is rendered, frame rate, lane position, name length and the order you typed the names in cannot affect the result. There is no hidden weighting and no "house" horse. Note for high-value prize draws: a host could in principle re-run a race until they like the result, so if you need an auditable draw, copy and share the results of the first race before anyone leaves the room.

Because that is what random means. With six horses, the same horse winning two races in a row happens about one time in six. If you need draws without repeats, use Remove winners & race again.

Not with settings, on purpose. If you want weighted odds (say, someone bought three raffle tickets), enter their name three times — each line is a separate horse.

2 to 50 per race. If you paste more than 50 the picker tells you and refuses to start; nobody is trimmed silently. Every line is a separate numbered entrant, so duplicate names are kept apart.

Yes. It is a normal web page; the track resizes to the screen. For a room, a laptop connected to a projector or TV with the Fullscreen (projector) button works best.

The online version needs the page to load once; after that the race runs entirely in your browser. A fully offline edition for school laptops is in preparation.

Not yet. It is on the list. Let us know if that matters to you.

No. Names never leave your device. The page keeps a copy in your browser's local storage so your list is there next time; Clear list removes it. See the privacy page.

The online picker is free and has no accounts or sign-ups. If the site later shows adverts, an ad-free offline edition will be available as a small one-time purchase.