Today, I played hooky from work. Well, kind of. I arranged to quit work a little early so I could go to the racetrack with my friends. It’s been a long and stressful few weeks. Karen, my shadow, had suggested that we schedule a day to go and watch the ponies. We did just that a couple of months ago.
At 2:00, we packed up and left the office. I had to get Rich’s keys to put my computer and stuff into his truck. Then I had to sneak back in to return his keys. All of this, I did without anyone stopping to ask me to do anything or to have a conversation with anyone. That in itself is a miracle.
Kim and Diane were running late. Karen and I found our way into the clubhouse and up to the luxury of an executive box seat. Kim had made the arrangements and purchased the tickets. We just had to show up. The box holds 7 people. We had 5, including Rick when he got off of work. That meant we were sharing the box 2 unknown people. Wonder what they would think of us.
The usher showed us to our box. We had to make our way through a crowd of people standing on the stairs. There was an office party in progress. That’s a nice way to spend an afternoon with your co-workers. There was a couple already seated in our box. Time to meet the betting competition.
Bruce and Michelle were Kiwis on a train tour of the U.S. It’s hard for me to tell an Australian accent from a New Zealand accent. Believe me, there are differences. I warned them that the box would be full of chicks out for an afternoon. I assured Bruce that Rick would be coming out and he wouldn’t have to suffer alone.
Kim and Diane arrived as the first race was getting under way. Karen had made her bet on the way. I was waiting the read the program. We were off to a good start. No one won on the first race. Rick arrived before the next race. We headed up to the window to make our bets. You only had to be 18 to bet. That meant that Rick could spend his own money.
Emilia was our server. We kept her busy with drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. We did appetizers to cover the table and share. Surprisingly, we did very well on drink and food. Kim and Diane decided to have sandwiches, but I wasn’t particularly hungry.
We continue to work our way through the racing program for each race. I won only one race. Kim won a couple. I think Diane and Karen won, but don’t quote me on that. Bruce and Michelle were doing very well. It was fun to make the bets and wonder around admiring the horses in the paddock and on the track.
The names of horses are amazing. We betting some of our choices based on names alone. I wanted to bet on Rosie’s Wild Tale, but it scratched. There was Richielillady, but it scratched also. Rick bet on Stig’s Deputy, but didn’t win. Most of us bet on Virginia’s Joy in one race, but we didn’t win. Now we did bet on Pirate’s Vow, and did win. One out of how many? See a pattern for us. Winning isn’t everything.
We held conversations with Michelle on their trip from LA to Chicago to Niagara Falls to NY to DC to the Big Easy, then Vegas and to LA again. Sounded like fun. They were enjoying themselves with many side trips, like this one to the track. Turns out, they own a horse that does steeple chases. They knew a lot about horses as well.
Finally, it was winding down to the last couple of races. Bruce and Michelle left to catch the train back into the city. I pulled Rick away to take me home. I still needed to pack for my Kansas City trip. Karen followed us out. All in all, it was a pretty good day. I laughed with friends, met new people and watched one of my favorite sports.
Yeah, Rick made the observation that this was our second set of touring Kiwis in a year. We met the Mustang touring Kiwis last year at the Salt Flats. Wow, both encountered involved horses. There must be something to that.
