A Day at the Races

When the Chairman and Members of the Managing Committee of the Bangalore Turf Club cordially invite you to attend the running of the Stayers Trial Stakes, how can you say no?

I had heard alot about "Race Day" since we got back in January. ("It's a great time. You have to go. When in Bangalore...", etc.) So, like the good ex-pats we are, we bought our tickets through the OWC. I knew we would be in some sort of room but didn't really know what to expect. The OWC requested we "dress smart" but our tickets said dress regulations were: Lounge Suit/National Dress/Blazer/Jacket with Tie/Safari Suit. So with no real expectations, we got dressed up in our "smart attire" and headed out on Saturday for the races.

Clearly we still haven't gotten used to "India time" because we arrived promptly at 12:30 to a nearly empty parking lot and a few guys wandering around but no one in Safari suits, lounge suits or national dress. Most people looked like they either worked at the Turf Club or have made a profession out of loitering. But each time we passed someone, they pointed us in the same direction so we walked over to what looked like some sort of clubhouse. When we reached the clubhouse, we were told to go up to the 3rd floor. At no point did anyone ask for our tickets, or if we were with any particular group. (We were just dressed nicely and clearly weren't Indian.) When we got to the 3rd floor, we were told to go up one more flight. There was one other older couple - the women I recognized from Thursday mornings so I knew we were in the right place, though they still appeared to be setting up and not quite ready for guests. As we waited for others to arrive, we grabbed a seat on the balcony area outside and tried to guess if Chandan was going to stick around to watch the races or head somewhere else. (We did see what appeared to be a group of drivers on a small bridge watching the races but could not tell if Chandan was one of them. Later in the car, he said he did see some of the races but we couldn't tell from where he watched. He said he didn't bet. This does not surprise me.)

As people trickled in, the pace of the set up seemed to increase and by 1:30-ish, the first bets were placed and the horses were ready to go. We did not bet on the first race but I put about $2 on the second race and won about $4. That's all it took for me to get hooked. We were served lunch, which was not the best food I've ever eaten, and later at tea time served some desserts. There was an open bar which probably didn't help me make the most sound judgments while betting but it's a good thing I didn't have much to spend. As the day wore on, I got more bold with my betting and probably had a whole $5 down on one race. But I only used the money I won so when all 10 races were over, we might have had $15 more that what we started with.

It was a good mix of people, some of the older ladies, some of the younger ladies, some of the mothers. For some, I'm sure this was not their first time at a horse race. Since they were pretty lax on collecting/checking tickets, there were rumors of OWC "crashers" but no one really seemed to mind. I think 150 OWC tickets were sold so it was a large room. Last year, apparently, there was no roof on the building so perhaps that is why some of the ladies chose to wear there oversized hats. There were two cashiers in our room so we didn't even have to leave to place our bets. Our room connected to a smaller area that was occupied by a group of high society Indians and the balcony was off that room so we all ended up mingling together. The building itself was a bit run down but the gray morning turned sunny so it was good to be outside but in the shade. Below the balcony area, is where we think most of the other people could go to watch but aside from our group, there didn't seem to be a huge crowd.

We hadn't anticipated staying the entire time but we should know now based on other events we've been too, we almost always stay later than we anticipated and true to form, we stayed through the last race. (I was on a roll, we had too.) Then, since it was still relatively early and the fun kept coming, it seemed like a good idea to go across the street to the outdoor bar and continue the party - with our big winnings. We called it a night around 9, which was plenty late enough after a full day and spent yesterday relaxing (or for some of us "recovering" might be the better phrase).

Some more pictures posted.