Thousands of ducks took to the water for a charity race yesterday afternoon — raising more than $150,000 for a hospice in the process.

The 11th annual rubber duck derby at Ordnance Island, St. George’s, saw almost 4,500 yellow ducks with red beaks and sunglasses sold to raise funds for Agape House — a record number.

Organiser Karen Dyer said: “That’s a lot of rubber ducks! The sight of all the ducks was quite amusing and it was quite exciting putting them all in the water. “The weather held and it was great to see such wonderful ethnic diversity in the crowd of spectators and entertainers.”

She added: “We are grateful to the Corporation of St. George’s, Belco, our major sponsor, all of the prize donors and the many volunteers who pulled together to make this such a successful event.”

The 100-yard dash is based on a similar event in America and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past decade for Agape House, which cares for terminally ill patients.

This year’s youth race ($5) had 1,256 ducks and 37 prize winners; the Pamper Me Race ($10) had 1,356 ducks and 43 winners; the family race ($20) had 1,151 ducks and 41 winners and there were 678 ducks in the corporate duck dash. The winners will be notified today and prizes can be collected at Agape Houseon Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.