Day 10: Del Mar Horse Races!!!

Thursday, August 24TH...

We took it pretty easy this day... Disneyland wiped me out the day before and Legoland was up next...  I'd been to The Del Mar Horse Races a couple of times shortly after graduating high school- while I was home from college for summer breaks... I've never actually bet on any of the races - although I probably should have, especially the very first time I went.. I was with my friend Nicole and a few other friends and we decided to pick horses solely by how we liked their names...  as it turns out, the horse I chose to come in 1ST place had the least odds of winning; my 2ND and 3RD picks  weren't much better either- but what would you know?!  They all placed and exactly in the same order as I chose them!!! I think the term is called a Trifecta.  I was jumping up and down SCREAMING with excitement!  The older gentleman surrounding us could.NOT.believe my luck!!! After celebrating for a couple of minutes- I immediately settled down--- that's when the men in front of me asked how much I bet... apparently if I even just placed a dollar on each of the horses I chose, I would have/could have been a RICH lady!  Imagine the look of disbelief on the men's faces when I told them I didn't bet a thing!!! Yeah, it was priceless!

Anyhow, I've wanted to return to the races ever since but I just haven't been back home to San Diego  DURING racing season since then... I LOVE the thrill of watching the horses race!!!  They're so fast and beautiful and powerful!!! Whoa!!! 

When I realized I was finally going to be in San Diego during the races, I was dead set on taking my boys... I just KNEW it was something that they would be completely fascinated by!!!

The races are held in Del Mar at the fairgrounds...

I have a LOT of memories of coming to the fairgrounds every year as a child/teenager... 

It felt good to be back in a such a familiar place.

There's usually 20-30 minutes between each race

so that the workers can groom the race track and move the gate...

the boys got a little bored during this time,

so they drew pictures like the one below in our little racing booklet...

It may not look like much, 

but the picture is actually a replication of the race track... 

Noah did it.  

It was pretty impressive.

It's a good thing I didn't bet any money on horses during this visit, because it would have been a total waste.  Lady Luck was NOT on my side.  I had horrible luck!  We only stayed and watched first 5 races... it was during the last race we watched that the horse Ian chose to take 1ST place, fell to ground mid race- it's a shame too because he had the lead...  The fall propelled the jockey off onto the track... an ambulance hurried out onto the track along with a vet--- it took them a while before they were able to move the horse off of the track--- POOR THING.  My dad read in the paper the following day, that the horse had to be euthanized- I imagine it either broke it's leg or it had something to do with its heart. Cuitadinha!

Either way, we all still had fun and it was definitely a NEAT experience my boys WILL probably NEVER forget!!!