Sarah, Minnie and I got "all tarted up," (Dutchie's phrase), and went to the horse races today in Moruya. It's just a local meet, so we didn't think it was a big deal, but a friend of Sarah's said to wear dresses. They only have races there once every few weeks, so it's kind of a big occasion. The prize money for these races was about the same for racing at Portland Meadows. Australians are still into their racing, and it was a blast to be in an actual crowd as the horses come across the finish line.
It was a gorgeous day, we had a couple of sparkling wines and a snack, and bet on the ponies. We were unsuccessful on the gambling end, but since I think we bet $12 over four races, I don't think we need to call Gamblers Anonymous quite yet...
Things that are different about Australian racing:
* They run to the right instead of the left like in the states.
* Everything is in meters, so I couldn't really tell how far they were going. Track was a weird shape -- sort of triangular.
* Almost all of the horses are the same shade of bay. A couple of chestnuts thrown in and I think I saw one grey. No blacks and only one or two dark bays.
* They say "and... they're racing" instead of "and ... they're off!"
People wore everything from super dressy dresses to totally casual. They have a competition for best dressed kid, man and woman. I should have tried to get pics of the winners, but I was a little sunburned and a little cranky by then.
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