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PLAINVILLE - Three years ago, friends of Mel Simmons decided to raise some money for cancer research in her memory.

They thought $5,000 would be a nice goal.

So far they have raised more than $4.5 million and have become so successful they had to form a foundation to handle it all.

Monday, they were at Plainridge Racecourse selling bracelets, visors, and magnets and selling tickets for a drawing.

The "Friends of Mel Foundation" also benefited from the Mildred Williams Driving Series that was held at the track at the same time. The series, according to organizer Ann Curran, is a number of harness races for women drivers who compete in tracks across the country.

The competition draws attention and prestige for the women drivers while helping to raise money for charities, mostly breast cancer, she said.

The drivers come from across the country and donated their 5 percent share of the purse to the charity of the day.

Curran said there are not many women drivers in harness racing, perhaps a couple at each track.

Getting them all together in one event is fun for them and makes the races more competitive, she said.

Monday, the series featured the third and fourth races at Plainridge.

The Friends of Mel Foundation expected to raise a few thousand dollars from the event.

Chris Sullivan of Franklin was a Delta flight attendant with Mel Simmons and got together with friends after she died in 2005 to start raising money. She is still at it.

"We wanted to raise money for cancer research and awareness. We worked very hard to hopefully find a cure for cancer," she said.

Pauline Alighieri of Norwood said the foundation has been able to make large donations, like $1 million to Massachusetts General Hospital and $100,000 to Wellness Community in Hingham because of the success of the fundraising.