To kick-off the second of a series started by Islanderpei last week, here's a few clips of a day out at the horseraces in Mexico: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/horse-racing/ Apologies for the succession of clips, this is Eurosport style I guess!
Yesterday I went to Sha Tin and had a clear round. In fact I only had one shout all day. But for losing shedloads of HK$ (not so much in £s) it was a very pleasant day, even if the succession of 6f handicaps gets a bit tedious.
Bustino: Only been racing once in HK, seems like a hundred years ago (probably was ). No Sha Tin then, just Happy Valley. Believe it or not, backed my longest-priced winner ever, Apple Pie, will never forget the name. Only had about HK$5 e/w (think it was dollars then) and got paid out in a bunch of fivers which looked like small bedsheets. Ah, a happy day at Happy Valley! Place was packed to capacity and the atmosphere for each race electric. Sure it has not changed. Glad you enjoyed the visit.
Gentlemen I am not complaining. Sha Tin had 54,000 people yesterday for the first day of the season!! I prefer it to Happy Valley as the straight is longer and generally the track is longer. But they are super settings with HV right in the centre of HK Island and surrounded by high rise while ST is in the New Territories with some small mountains as a backdrop. Entering the racecourse yesterday there was a queue you could join to bang a gong to bring in good luck for the new season. I now know I made a critical error not joining that queue. I should have banged the gong.
You'd know better than I Islander, but he seems to be a decent rider. Still, when a jockey eventually makes a name for himself, the more chance of nabbing the quality rides. I'll go check out the prices.
I use the web site and the DRF but buy my forms from the race track. www.thoroughbredtimes.com is ok also
