It’s a beautiful morning for a breakfast by the track. We’re surrounded by rolling hills and lush farmland, birds are singing, the sun is shining and it’s interesting to watch the horses train.

Our friend George picked us up and drove us to the barn he keeps his horses in, behind the track. He showed us his horses (he’s got 4), I took one for a short walk to eat some grass, he explained some of the equipment he uses and we got to watch him exercise his best horse. The stable and training area is so much bigger than I expected, so many barns and multiple training tracks.

A quick run to the nearby grocery to pick up some healthy food and a nap at the hotel.

We watched the first race from our hotel room, which was fun but you can’t hear anything from the announcer. Then we went down to place bets on George to win or place.

Then we went to meet George in the paddock area, which is where they get the horses ready for their race. George had 2 horses racing tonight, 1 that’s young and still learning about how to run in a race, and an older 1 that he would be trying to be com with from the difficult outside spot. The young horse had a good learning experience and George was pleased to finish 3rd with his older mare. We had a great time learning about the sport of harness racing, meeting the people that worked to support the sport, and watching the horses race.

https://vernondowns.com/racing/

9.8