Off to the Races

Saturday night we had our third annual evening at Hazel Park Harness Raceway to celebrate my Uncle Bill's Birthday. In attendance were Don (my dad), Sarah (my sister), Aunt Sue, Uncle Bill and myself. We got to the track around 6:15 and got a table in the Clubhouse so we could have dinner while we watched the races. I tried to take pictures through the window, but they're a bit fuzzy.

This a picture of a horse with his harness and rider



Here's how the harness racing works:

They've got this truck:

A modified Chevy pick-up, I think it's a Silverado. The truck was new this year. For the last 40 years they used a modified white Cadillac.

They drive the truck out on to the track



and the horses start to line up behind it



The guys sitting in the back of the truck close the gates and the driver starts heading around the track



Here's the horses as they were passing our window



When they get halfway around the track the gates open and the truck gets out of the way



here are the horses after their first lap



That platform by the yellow pole is where the guy stands to take the picture for the photo finish.

Here's a picture of the scoreboard with the odds for the next race



The minimum amount you can bet is $2 per horse. I bet $5 per horse, 2 horses per race for all ten races. That's a total of $100. I walked away with a net loss of $25.75, which isn't too bad, especially since Don gave Sarah and I each $20 to bet with.

and a good time was had by all.