A Day at the Races

Springtime in Melbourne ushers in the annual racing carnival. And I'm not kidding when I say its a carnival!

The last couple of years, I've watched with mild amusement, bordering on awe, as the men wear suits and the women dress up in the latest designer dresses and don hats and feathers and what not, and queue up at the railway station to head for the races. I'm usually on my way to university or to work, and on my way back at the end of the day, I see these same people staggering back home after having consumed copious quantities of champagne, hanging out in the sun and betting on the horses. And I remember thinking "Hey, I could get into this!".

And so this year, I finally did. There are several races that take place over the course of 50 days. I went for what is probably the 2nd or 3rd most important one - the Victoria Derby.

Saturday, October 29th. It started off as a sunny day, but the sky was overcast and it was always threatening to rain. Kicked off the day with a champagne breakfast at home with housemates and friends, and got suited up. Well, I wear a suit to work everyday, so it was nothing new to me, except for the champagne of course. Then set off about 11 towards the racecourse. I carried an umbrella with me, which I luckily never had to use.

Reached the racecourse about half past 12, after a jam-packed train journey. Found our way through the crowds to a spot near the tracks, picking up a few bottles of pink champagne along the way. One of the main attractions of the races is the betting. I didnt get into right away, but when my friends placed a few bets and won, I decided to join in the excitement. Over the course of the day, I won about 75 dollars, which was rather good going I suppose. At any rate, it paid for my ticket and the champagne.

It was a fun day overall. Had several bottles of champagne (if you look at the previous post, that's the day that recorded the copious quantities of champagne), placed a few bets, won some money, watched the horses, and also watched the women. Towards the end of the day, some of the people were pissed as parrots on champagne and beer and they provided some prime entertainment. I forgot about the horses and concentrated on these inebriated folks. Many a laugh!!

The races got over at half past 5. Rounded the day off with some more drinking and some dancing. They had a live band playing and we decided to stick around and enjoy the music. Afterwards, we headed for the city and continued drinking till midnight.

Sadly though, I dont think the horses got the attention they deserved. This year was quite an important one for the races, with the favourite horse winning the cup for a record third time in a row. Severe Seabiscuit vibes!!

Well, that's one thing that can be crossed out of the ol' To-Do-List.