Betting On The Grey Horse
One of the really fun things about a day at the race track is you can make it whatever you want it to be. There are NO RULES. Unlike other sports; where you HAVE to sit in your assigned seat, you HAVE to purchase food and drink from vendors, and the only place you can wander is to the bathroom and back.
Neal and Poppy at Saratoga
At the racetrack; you can get all dressed up (including that very special hat), sit in the clubhouse, and bet on the Grey horse. You can put on your shorts, fill up the cooler with drinks and sandwiches, and find a nice spot under a shady tree. You can wander the grounds, soaking up the atmosphere (and a nice cold beer) while you watch the horses and people. Or, you can combine some of the above like my friend Poppy here; wear the hat, skip the clubhouse, find a nice picnic table in the sun, and wander about looking for the trainer who is wearing a tie. (A story for a future article).
With that said, while you can have fun visiting the racetrack a couple of times a year … wearing the hat and betting on the grey horse, it’s probably going to wear thin after that. It’s hard to remain interested in something you’re not connected to or really understand. Or as Carmine Falcone says in Batman Begins, “You always fear what you don’t understand.”