Take a Date to the Horse Races

Local Track Offers Bets, Paddock Tour, Photos

Single guys with imagination will take their dates to the racetrack, a place where date designers can create lasting memories. A stimulating activity in the proper surroundings with local scenery, cultural heritage, and a great sporting arena is sure to make an impression.

Whether narrating each race or note-taking with the pencils provided to highlight the digits as you go along, the text becomes a record of the evening's adventure so be sure and write your bets and mark which horse won etc.

The racetrack program is a storybook. Present this logbook of data as an exciting diary in which all the details of all the characters (the horses and their drivers) are chronicled.

Most racetrack publications begin with a journal or a race synopsis. An expert overview briefing of this kind often highlights the races and sometimes explains the common denominators as well as the small differences between the horses in each match. The nomenclature of the actual program can be learned with this handy booklet download available at Standardbred Canada.

Proper use of the racing program is not only pivotal to understanding the horse races, it helps discern the animal's age, weight and colors, how many races it has run, and how many times it has won, or placed 2nd or shown 3rd. Veterans can relate pole position details, medications, and handicapping information like weights, blinders and weather preferences.

The driver or jockey is also part of the equation and has stats to be scrutinized. Racetrack betting is a big part of the fun, and win, place and show bets are pretty straightforward, but exactors, triactors and superfectas can get a little confusing. Take time to learn the combinations on this simple harness race betting game before you go to the race track.

It's sensible to keep the bets small and just have fun. If possible, get a table outside where you can see the horses coming, and hear the thunder as they pass. When touring a paddock, don't be afraid to engage other spectators in productive conversations about the horses.

Watch the crowd of people that saunters out onto the gravel surface of the racetrack at the conclusion of the race. It's usually the winning horse's owner, and his or her family and their friends. Here's something not many people know - track photographers work for themselves. They sell those rigidly posed Winner's Circle photos and candid action shots to the owners for money, and that's how they make a living.

When the next race ends, watch the track photographer do his business and approach him afterward when he's least occupied - while he or she is waiting for the next race. This entrepreneur will oblige your photographic needs for a reasonable price, but don't settle for a posed picture in front of the grandstand.

Leverage this professional's access to restricted areas and get shots with winning horses at track level or in the winner's circle. Put $50 in his hand and he'll take you to the roof!