BLUEMOMENT

Something I've wanted to watch for years and never got around to it;









Corbiewood Stadium, Bannockburn - very entertaining on a sunny summer's evening. Not being very wise to the ways of the world, the race form and betting is all a bit of a mystery, but great fun nonetheless. Mainly a guy thing, locals in the main, but quite a few women and children were there. If you are thinking of taking your family or your servants for an evening out, you should be aware that the language can be a little bit colourful.

2011 race dates here.

Surprised those horses can actually run with all the rigging on them, more ropes than on the Lord Nelson.

I'm no expert in these things, but these particular pics are what they call "pace" racing, where they "move the legs on one side of their body in tandem; left front and rear, and right front and rear", and the hobbles are there to provide for that particular gait - from the Scottish Harness Racing Website. In "trotting", which is less popular than pace racing in the UK, the horses "move with a diagonal gate [sic]; the left front and right rear legs move in unison as do the right front and left rear", again, from their website.

The horses are standardbred rather than thoroughbred.

It's quite a sight; the crowd knows their stuff and quite a lot of money seems to change hands with the on-course bookies. There's a bar at Corbiewood, and the catering is of the fast food variety, ie burgers and suchlike. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will go back again.

Shard wrote:I'm no expert in these things, but these particular pics are what they call "pace" racing, where they "move the legs on one side of their body in tandem; left front and rear, and right front and rear", and the hobbles are there to provide for that particular gait - from the Scottish Harness Racing Website. In "trotting", which is less popular than pace racing in the UK, the horses "move with a diagonal gate [sic]; the left front and right rear legs move in unison as do the right front and left rear", again, from their website.

The horses are standardbred rather than thoroughbred.

It's quite a sight; the crowd knows their stuff and quite a lot of money seems to change hands with the on-course bookies. There's a bar at Corbiewood, and the catering is of the fast food variety, ie burgers and suchlike. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will go back again.

Thanks for that Donald, must try to rig Hummingbird that way, maybe she wont heel as much when close hauled.
C_W

Shard wrote:If you are thinking of taking your .. servants for an evening out, you should be aware that the language can be a little bit colourful.

we were giving my sister's daughter a day out at the races very recently, a diversion from the breast cancer and the brutal course of chemo she'd just started. We 'gave' each other £100 to bet and I learnt 2 things: 1) there are 2 windows with which a bookie accepts your money and 1 for paying out - work that one out 2) never bet with women; the niece was up £30 by betting 'on the greys'. I was down £60, not including the cost of a copy of 'The Turf 2011' which, according to the Racing Post, would guarantee me a winner every time ...