yesterday, jean and i went to the "young guns" day at the Pioneer Park racetrack here in Alice Springs.
it was amazing how many people were dressed up for the occasion -- later, a friend of mine told me that races in the outback are a long-standing tradition to bring people together who live in remote areas for some fun and dancing (and of course, a few drinks). it felt like an afternoon at santa anita crossed with the prom.
one thing that was a big change from other racetracks i'd been to was how close you could get to the horses. before each race, they walked all the horses just a few feet away from us, and in the parking lot we found a hole in the hedge that led directly onto the racetrack itself. while we resisted the urge to run in front of the horses, jean found an excellent vantage point right over the track to take some more photos at.
and our results? while i came out with an early win after our first race, i ended up losing on the next two races. jean, with her magical horse-picking abilities, won multiple times over and ended up taking us out to dinner with her winnings.
it was amazing how many people were dressed up for the occasion -- later, a friend of mine told me that races in the outback are a long-standing tradition to bring people together who live in remote areas for some fun and dancing (and of course, a few drinks). it felt like an afternoon at santa anita crossed with the prom.
one thing that was a big change from other racetracks i'd been to was how close you could get to the horses. before each race, they walked all the horses just a few feet away from us, and in the parking lot we found a hole in the hedge that led directly onto the racetrack itself. while we resisted the urge to run in front of the horses, jean found an excellent vantage point right over the track to take some more photos at.
and our results? while i came out with an early win after our first race, i ended up losing on the next two races. jean, with her magical horse-picking abilities, won multiple times over and ended up taking us out to dinner with her winnings.
