I'm happy to watch races on TV, but I like the track better. I find it can be quite a lot of exercise at Belmont- walk to the paddock, watch the horses, walk to the betting window, make bet, walk to track, watch race. Rinse, repeat. I'm usually exhausted at the end of a day. And my feet hurt. Thank goodness I take a train there and don't drive, as I usually fall asleep on the way home!
Funny anecdote from this year's Belmont (Kev and BuffyM have heard it already)-- I was on my way to the restroom when I saw a guy leaning over with his head pressed up against the wall in a pose of the most abject despair you ever saw. My heart sank and I thought, "Oh God, how much did he lose? His mortgage payment? Food budget? Oh, God, this sport will break your heart." I had such a visceral reaction-- my stomach was in knots, looking at him.
And then the guy straightened up and I saw there was a drinking fountain recessed into the wall and in fact he'd just been getting a drink of water.
Thank goodness I didn't go up and offer him a crisis hotline number.
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