Off to the races!

For some reason I have always had a fascination with horse racing. Though this has not turned me into a millionaire handicapper who knows the difference between a 3 day carryover pick six, $2 exacta and the daily double, I do know Win, Place, and Show, and how to convince my parents to waste their money betting on horses I have never seen before.

The starting gate has always fascinated you most. A gaping steel apparatus straddling the width of the track, with stalls all along. It looks like a piece of construction equipment. There is a starting gate at the Churchill Downs Racing Museum in Louisville that you can play with. The starting gate signals the beginning of the beginning. "2 out"..."1 out"..."Locked up!" and  then with a bell and a crash
They're off!

But that is merely the beginning, there is a mile to cover, and 2 minutes to do it. From your favorite position on the rail, you can hear the thunder, the power, the fire. The hooves slam the dirt and the mud flies in a storm of horseflesh and dust. And they disappear around the turn. They are hidden from view as they hit the back stretch offering but passing glimpses through the trees and tote board.

They are a pack and you cannot tell who is who. They travel into the turn at the other end of the oval and come into view. You can make out the individual horses once more, and now you know where your bet rides. The horse you thought would be better then the others that day.

DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME!!!!

With flash and clatter they once more charge towards you. And yoursis in a fierce battle for show! Only to the outside, a horse with some name like Hotstuff is closing. Can your Appledandy hold on? The horse you circled in the program at 12 to 1 because his name was Apple related? Here comes the wire......................!!!!

 

 

If you can tell, let me know, the two horses neck and neck are about to come to the line. If it's the inside (far) you win, outside, you lose. Simple stuff.

And that is why I love horse racing