Day at the races

Saturday, we went to the Epsom Derby. That would be us along with 140,000 other crazy Europeans! We thought we were letting ourselves in for a day at the races, but it turned out to be the second leg of Britian's equivalent to the triple crown (who knows, maybe they invented it first, like a lot of things.)

We went on a coach (bus to those in the US) along with a contingent of about 25 from our local (pub), the Duke of Hamilton ("The Duke), which is literally situated 50 steps from the front of our apartment building. It's a little bit famous because an episode of the British version of the Apprentice was shot there recently.

Richard, the young and fun proprietor of the Duke, was our host. We got off to a bit of a rocky start because as my dad would say, he "overtrained" the night before. Or, as they say here, Richard was royally pissed on Friday night. We dropped over to say hello and by 9pm he was well on his way.

We were promised champagne and bacon rolls on the coach, but alas the coach driver informed us that not only did we have to wear our seat belts under penalty of law, but there was no eating or drinking on the coach.

So, we were all very hungry by the time we arrived at Epsom around noon, well before post time for the first race at 13:40. The place was a madhouse. Cars, coaches, people everywhere. The stands are quite small, but the track is huge -- about a 2-mile horseshoe with people encamped everywhere. Literally one massive tailgate party! The people watching was amazing.

The betting was also interesting. Not only is there state sanctioned betting at portable trailers parked all over the place, but there are also private bookies who make their own odds and have slightly different rules than the Totes. The lines are shorter at the bookies, though.

The Queen arrived before the first race and one of the Epsom flags was lowered and the royal standard replaced it. (The standard is to be raised in 21 seconds from bottom to top once the Queen has arrived in the building.) We didn't see her, but saw the balcony she was standing on.

The food Richard and his mates prepared was wonderful. People had a good time. Only one fight broke out in our group, but it ended quickly. We made many rest stops on the way home and ended the long day at 21:30. Oh, yes, by hitting a £45 winner in the second race, we came home even.