Horse Racing

Alan's only real request this semester was to see a steeple chase.  So I hunted down a schedule of races and hoped for one nearby.  Turns out, we're sort of in the middle of some pretty serious horse race country.

We took a Saturday and headed up to Doncaster, a short 40-minute train ride away, for an afternoon of steeple chases.  Had the weather been just slightly warmer, it would have been an absolutely perfect day (but then it probably would have been incredibly crowded too, so maybe we got lucky with the cold weather).

We talked our friends Jack and Abby (and their mom Nancy) into coming with us.

So here's Cooper (and Alan down in his orange coat right by the fence) watching the horses warm up.

Right near the family area of the stands was a small kids play area, including this ride.  Coop's in the firetruck in this picture, but he drove every one of these vehicles at least three times.

And he went in the bounce house with Jack and Abby.

Another go on the firetruck, as a group:

Look!  More horses!

We bet on four horse races.  Our friend Nancy hit the jackpot and won money three of the four times (maybe 12 pounds total, after betting 1 pound on each horse).  Alan broke even.  I, on the other hand, better not quit my day job.  Three of the four horses I bet on came in dead last, and two of those finished without a rider.  Oops.

Headed home: