Horse Racing as known to the common man, is a game of the Rich and the Famous. But this concept is slowly changing. But the information I put in here is totally a first hand one and self experienced.
Horse racing as any other games has a lot to offer for the person playing this game. If you chance to visit a racecourse, and see the happenings and the stakes that go in, you will be surprised at the results. Because there is not only one race for the day. Several lined up one after the other in intervals of half an hour each.
And mind you the punctuality of the racing as far as the timing goes are absolute on dot.
To get a better idea there is an information booklet available outside the racecourse for the day which speaks of all the races for that day, it also contains information like Name of the horse, the weights it carries, the name of the jockey, the name of the owner, its track record etc. which makes it easier to associate with the horse you see at the parade before the race. Then one could go at the counter and bet on the particular horse of your choice. The favorites for each race are also listed.
The batting one would be surprised starts as low as Rs10/-. Afcourse there are various combinations on the winning. Terms like ;’’TO WIN’’ which means you bet on a horse and say that is the one that wins. ’’PLACE’’ which means the horse could be in the first three, ’’TANALA’’ is again a choice of a few and a pool in few races. And some other terms like ’’FORECAST’’ etc are used .One has to bet accordingly and purchase the ticket with the horse no and race no and the amount of money you have betted. The total amount of collection is announced for the particular race, once the counter closes for that race. .
After you have finished betting for the race, you go to the stands (there are two stands one for the Members and the other for the Non-Members) where one awaits for the race to start. Each race has a particular distance (every race different) for the horses to run. Well this is the moment before every race where every ones anxious faces are worth a watch..then there is the signaling of start of the race. There is silence for a few moments when you can only hear the commentators voice, telling you of the details of the horse and their running positions, but then soon you hear shouts and screams as the horses appear the winning post and the commentators voice just disappears in thin air (though his commentary is continuously on) due to the shouts. And there you see some screaming with joy and some lamenting ’’Better Luck Next Time’’ Once the winners are declared you could collect your winning money from the counter after they announce the proportions of the win. The money can be collected from various counters, on producing your ticket. There are ample counters all over the place.Some of the known Jockeys in this field are Pesi Shroff, Aslam Kader.
The Horsing Scenes in India are but changing, now you have big Industry housing sponsoring the races, Like the Poonawalls Breeders Multimillionaire, The Bombay Dying Cup, The Oberoi Cup and the biggest of them all being the Mc Dowells Indian Derby (which I guess most of you must have read and heard about).
A dress code (viz.: Formals) is a must at the Members Stand.
In these races there are many a time competions held where you get to fill a form and name the first four horses in the winning order. There is a time limit option and the entries close at that particular time. The winners are announced after the race and prizes like Maruti Car, Scooty , Fridge etc are given away. (In the past as noticed these prizes generally go to people who have come for the races for the first time on invitation as they call it: The beginners Luck. They also have prizes for ’’BEST DRESSED’’ Indian and Western. There are also food stalls galore so one does not know how and where the time passes..
(Specially for the first few visits) Yes but one has to keep control and not get HOOKED.All in all this sport is an expensive affair.
NOTE: Fellow MSians these are my personal experiences, there are many many more questions that come to ones mind in this game. May be I will not be able to satisfy each query that may come up in your minds. Better check with a regular Goers if known to you for details.
But a once in a life time experience at this place is a must.