Horses.

I played with horses yesterday... ok, I didn't exactly play with them - more like I bet on them. I went to the Belmont Stakes and it was a very entertaining afternoon. We realized that horse racing was a sport based solely on betting, its only reason for existence. Sure, people bet on other sports - but the sport would still exist without the betting - for horses (and dogs maybe- but I don't think I would like dog racing) no chance.

Everyone dresses up - or down, gets out of the city, drinks, and spends money to get excited with a crowd of strangers by watching beautiful animals. Cool, unless you are addicted and very, very sad.

I lost my first two bets because I didn't know what I was doing, then I won in the next 6 races. I may have only won 10 cents and never made up for my first two bets, but I was entertained.

After the races the jumping began. Not the horses, but drunk humans. There were guys jumping over trash barrels using a crutch as a pole vault. This happened for a while until a guy in a suit and a guy with a badge came over... but THEN... then the crowd mentality picks up,"BOOOOOOOOOO" followed by, "LET THEM PLAY, LET THEM PLAY, LET THEM PLAY!" followed by, "YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" very well done all around.

Then there was the train; packed with (mostly) sweaty, sunburned, inebriated, upper-middle-class (yuppies) gentlemen. a piece of fabric was attaching two people across the isle from each other. At first they made people jump or go under. Then the crowd mentality picks up and it was a game, involving the entire train, who would or wouldn't jump, who would limbo, what witty cheers could be made up to get people to sprint down a moving train and jump over a piece of cloth. Jolly good times.







oh yeah...
horses...