Day at the Races

Horse racing is huge in Australia.  The season starts in early autumn and runs through to the end of spring.  The biggest race is the Melbourne Cup at the beginning of November, but there are races at every track all through the season.  The races are spaced out at about 40 minutes and there is only one race nationwide at any time and televised, so it is possible to see every race that is run.  Even at the race track the races from all over the country are shown on big screen tvs.

We went to the Eagle Farms racetrack in Brisbane to catch a day of racing in support of a local hospital.  Clearly this was a much bigger deal than both the dog races that we watched last year and the piglet races we saw on Australia Day!  Although it is still early season, there were plenty of people there dressed up in proper race attire, including hats for the ladies and ties for the men.  We wore casual clothes and so we couldn't get into the member's area, which has a fairly strict dress code.

Parade of horses

The entire day is all about horse racing.  Before each race the horses are lead around a small track so that all punters can have a look before placing their bets.  We bet on every race and JT managed to win one bet through careful reading of the program and the background of each horse, while JB managed to lose both of her bets by basing the pick on the horse's name (General Purple and Geological...both irresistable!)

This was a really great way to spend a Saturday.  The crowds were manageable and the day is really well organized.  In addition to all of the electronic betting they also have betting houses with vertical boards listing the horse's name and odds.  If the odds change, the person at the board turns a little crank until the correct numbers come up.  It is very old-fashioned and charming.

An exciting finish

We keep expecting the cooler fall weather to hit any day now, but so far we have been really lucky.  We are in another beautiful weekend here, while Sydney is recovering from more wind, rain and floods.  We're planning another trip there soon, so we hope things settle down!