The Belmont Stakes

So if you have never seen a horse race before I would recommend seeing at least one in your lifetime. Today was the first time I've ever experienced a horse race. I've always had a weakness for playing cards and for a few years there I was really getting into playing poker and truly enjoyed it. So today I went with my fiance and his family to The Belmont Stakes and I placed either a dollar or two dollar bets on 11 out of the 13 races. I lost on every race but one where I came out with 77 dollars. That was exciting, especially when the first 9 races I won nothing and watched everyone else rushing to the windows with their wins. Finally on the 10th race, I put 2 dollars on one horse at random to win, and miraculously and I think to everyone's amazement, he came out in the lead. It wasn't all about making and losing money that was the experience of races. First of all I've never seen so many people in one place all dressed up for the most part, many ladies in these ridiculously large hats, all cheering at the same time. It was also kind of interesting to hear the shouting of misbelief when during the top race the lead horse that everyone bet their most money on came in at last place where some random horse you would never expect to win came out in the lead. Even though there were gains and losses I did see many families and couples just having fun because that's what it's all about isn't it? I think the only downfall to my day was not the losses I enumerated, it was seeing one of the horses get hurt at the end of a race. That truly bothered me on multiple levels to see a horse get hurt. I can only hope and pray that he will be ok. Overall seeing The Belmont Stakes was a great experience today and I'm truly glad that I was able to see horse racing for the first time in my life and to experience that rush that you feel at the finish line when you see that winner rushing through. I even got to stand at the finish line of one race and that was the best feeling truly. I will also admit, it is kind of nice to win a little something too, even if 77 dollars pretty much just fills my gas tank for a few days. ;)