Canterbury Park
About 3 miles from where I live, there is a famous horse race track called Canterbury park. It wasn’t too hot this morning... so after watching the French open finals I decided I would give it a shot. After a fifteen min ride on my cycle, I reached there. The parking lot was full indicating a big turnover today. I must mention here that I have always been curious about horses but haven’t had a chance to have a close look. Once I think I did ride a pony when I was a kid..at Mahabalipuram I think..Horses are magnificent beasts and they are truly a spectacle to watch when they are in top gear.. So I walked inside and found a seat on the upper level which promised a good view. I was thrilled to see all the horses strut past us with jockeys high above the saddles and feet in the stirrup irons..The first race was really thrilling…the second was ok.. after a while I found myself losing all excitement and only then realized what sustained everyone else’s.
Betting and money
So I went to one of the “Wager” counters and asked for a “How to play with horses” brochure. The lady at the counter gladly handed me one with a smile. Maybe she thought another bakra was in the net…So here I was – a first time better with 2 dollars on me ( incidentally tht was the minimum bet) . I quickly went through the rules. There are many types of bets. Ones which require you to bet on a horse which has to win or take one among the first 3 places or betting on winners in many races and so on…Now how do I pick a horse? People usually use news papers or other sources. I was interested in one parah which mentioned observing the horses minutes before the race to check its body language. Of course I can do that cant I? The horses are marched along a circular route in a park outside the race track and the betters can “observe” from close quarters.
The Moral High Horse
These were my observations
Horse 1- Stares at me as if I am 666 from omen. Not my type.next
Horse 2- Has rabid skin. Next
Horse 3. Shows me all its teeth as if for a colgate ad.. and I am not very impressed. Next
Horse 6 . This one is real aggressive. The horsmen have a tough time bridling it. I thought maybe I should go for this one. But sth stopped me.
Horse 7. Now he is the one. Steady composed march. Head held high, dignified composure. I looked into its eyes and could sense the fire..it was sth I cant explain. So for unexplained reasons, I went to the nearest counter and placed my bet on no 7 for a cool 2 dollars. If I won, id get 4. The Id buy myself a quarter of a cheese pizza and get back home a more “complete” man.
The trumpets blared and the horses made a grand entry and went for their traditional warm up around the track. After a while, from a distance we saw one particular horse going berserk and break free from the jockey. He came galloping to the finish line ( from the opposite direction) and went straight ahead ....to the fences. The kids jumped with joy and everyone started laughing. I was concerned only with one thing. The number. It first looked like a 1. Then I saw my dignified-calm-confident no.7 speeding away like crazy, taking my 2 dollars along with him. The cheese pizza vanished into thin air...I cursed my luck....mmm so much so for an exciting sunday afternoon!!!
