April 13, 2004

wow. that article is rubbish. horse racing shouldn't be the whipping boy for drunk gamblers. it's no more at fault than boxing, soccer, the ncaa tournament or your local 7-11 which have turned into gambling stations where gamblers hang out all day scratching off lotto. i'd go through each instance in the article where the author is way off.....but it's just easier if you insert your sport of choice in place of horse racing in the article and watch it develop from there. i have no idea how horse racing goes down across the atlantic but the author should probably stay away from where drunk gablers hang out in general. as an occasional visitor to the track (maybe 8 times a year), i've found the last place i want to be is at OTB or aquaduct....i've quite enjoyed summer afternoons outside with a cooler full of beer at monmouth or saratoga. as dylan would say, the game is the same just up on another level.

posted by oliver_crunk at 09:23 AM on April 13, 2004

Ha. That Steven Wells.

posted by worldcup2002 at 09:50 AM on April 13, 2004

(bear in mind that Swells takes the piss on a more or less permanent basis).

posted by BigCalm at 10:11 AM on April 13, 2004

It is certainly true that there hasn't been a recorded instance of a jockey successfully mating with an owner since 1927. That was pretty funny. I swear to God, though ... how does anyone not versed in whatever language that is follow this guy? It's easier to grasp quantum physics or Reaganomics than it is to not be tripped every second sentence by something like this: (Which, of course, is what WOULD have happened if Sir Alex Ferguson hadn't stop chasing the Van Nistelrooy-faced Rock of Gibraltar's bollock-dollars and started concentrating on breaking the deadly cockney duopoly-deathgrip on the Premiership instead) Ummm, yeah. As for horse racing, I have an easy way of getting around all of this. At Fairmont Park, which is outside of St. Louis, you can rent a private suite on the track level for a paltry $50. Couches and tables, two big-screen TVs and a nice proximity to the beer and the betting windows, and it doesn't hurt that people think you are some sort of bigwig. Last year for my birthday, we had a bunch of 20something girls come in and hang out for an hour. I'm happily off the market, but the guys I was with freaked. Good times.

posted by wfrazerjr at 01:34 PM on April 13, 2004

I understood every word he said. I think it helps to be English.

posted by dng at 01:53 PM on April 13, 2004

Hell, I'm a New Zealander and it was all perfectly clear to me. But if we're going to ban sports based on the aberrant behaviour of fans, football is the first to go in Europe...

posted by rodgerd at 03:01 PM on April 13, 2004

I understood every word he said. I think it helps to be English. Or to have a Babelfish in your ear.

posted by wfrazerjr at 05:47 PM on April 13, 2004

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