AT THE RAIL WITH NAGS AND WAGS: April 2014

Historical House in Saint Cloud

Ville de Saint Cloud

A Historic Tower opposite the track.

A big weekend of racing this past Saturday kept me glued to the TV all day. I thought I was going to make the Florida Derby but it didn't happen. Not to worry I picked the winner, Constitution, and second Wildcat Red. Then their were some old favorites that scored huge on the day all around the country with Micromanage winning the Skip Away Stakes, Palace Malice winning the New Orleans Handicap, Skyring breaking a drought in the Mervin H. Muniz JR. Handicap and Majestic Harbor an impressive steal in the Tokyo City Cup. The highlight of the day was getting to see the running of the EAU Derby and the Dubai World Cup, a nice broadcast. The World Cup being won by African Story for the the United Arab Emirates Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and the derby going to Toast of New York, who I hope comes over for the Kentucky Derby. If he were mine, I might think about the Blue Grass too because of the synthetic surface, although not many horses win the BG and the KD.

It's been a while since I blogged. I was in London when the Cheltenham Festival was in full swing and would have given anything to go to the three day meet as I love the jumps but had to leave London on Gold Cup Day. Instead I settled for spending a day in a Ladbrokes which was really cool. I could bet the dogs that only have six runners in a race there; Tampa Bay was up on screen too but why play home? Hurdle races were going off all over England and if that wasn't enough they run simulated computer horse races you can bet on too but something is just wrong with that. The hurdle races had big fields and not knowing much about that opted out and stuck to dogs which have some hurdle races also, I really love those.
This year's winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup was Lord Windermere who according to The Sun had "little chance." I love that their papers actually have horse racing in them still and bought: The Sun, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Star and The Daily Express, all had something about the Gold Cup on the front page. There were a lot of gambling incentives offer too such as if your horse finished 2nd or 3rd you got your money back, another one I saw was if your horse fell and didn't finish, you got your money back.

Saint-Cloud

Saturday in Paris I discovered there was a beautiful racetrack, Saint-Cloud, a short bus ride (which was free due to a pollution reduction program) from my hotel, awesome! And, what a track, grass as far as you could see. Horse racing the way it's meant to be enjoyed, all the bright colors back dropped by rich green. Taking good photos was a breeze. The only dirt was a narrow path right next to the outside rail the horses galloped back to scale on after pulling up around a clump of trees at the end of the straight. No larger outdoor screen on the infield meant people had to use binoculars, something I haven't seen in a while. One outdoor monitor was mounted on the side of the grandstand above the winners circle and showed race replays.

Pulling up

Galloping back to scale (and I mean galloping)

The grandstand was small but the track itself made up for it and the weather was nice enough to spend the day outside checking out the horses in the paddock and the winners circle. A set of windows was conveniently locate right next to the paddock. I don't speak French but figuring out the form guide they gave me as I came through the gate wasn't all that hard and I backed 4 winners and 2 exactas out of 8 races. The tellers were helpful and spoke English. In the opener I didn't bet because they were first time starters with no form and the second race I shouldn't have, it was an amateur or Gentlemen Riders race, the weights told me that. Then in a bit of a rush I canceled a winning ticket. I had been inside watching something I'd never seen before on the screens, pacers racing under saddle with riders on them in another part of France, Lisieux.

Saint Cloud Grandstand

Pacers racing under saddle.

It was a bit rough, one nearly fell, The field was large and they seemed to be stepping all over one another but amazing. I also found it amusing sitting at a track in Paris and watching pacers racing in Melbourne, Australia.

I had a great afternoon and one day Saint-Cloud Hippodrome might not be there, it was surrounded by apartments which overlooked it in a nice neighborhood but like so many now there wasn't a big crowd in attendance.