It was a hot summer evening in the 50’s somewhere in my small town America. The carnival was in town and that was a call for a family outing. As we strolled through the midway, the colors, the people, the sounds and the smells were from another world. Strange strangers were beckoning for us to join in the fun at their booth. My brother and I tried to knock down the milk bottles we later figured out must have been glued to the shelf. We even tried to pop some balloons with darts but the darts must have been dull or the balloons made of triple latex.
Finally, we came across the most amazing game we had ever seen in our young lives. A row of pinball machines all alike and a track with tiny toy horses (similar to the photo above). We froze in our tracks and watched as people worked the plungers to shoot the balls into holes which powered their horse on the track with the same number and name. Over on the side was a lanky man with a cane and a straw hat who just didn’t sit and watch… he called the race. It went something like: “And they’re off and running, with Tim Tam taking the lead and Whirlaway right behind. And here comes Nashua and Citation up to challenge for the lead with Seabiscuit now making his move……. .” Who were these horses? And those unusual names seemed to roll off the barkers tongue with confidence and respect and I later found out why. They were all names of the Derby, Preakness and Belmont winners of that time. I can remember not wanting to leave that booth until it was definitely the last call to go.
I don’t remember if I won anything and I don’t think I even cared but that’s why horse racing is so awesome, the fun is in the interactivity of the bet and the event and the rush of excitement competing with others involved. Needless to say that was start of my life long love affair with horse racing. It was many years later as a college student that I heard about a horse track in a neighboring state and knew that I had to go there.
To Be Continued …..
