Melbourne Cup Day
For the first time in my life I did it. Went to the TAB and placed a bet. Had to ask three people how to go about with things but I've done it now. Ten bucks. Last night I spoke to Damian's dad who is always very interested in horse racing and he told me who the first four were going to be in the big race today. He never actually puts money in but loves to do the research on jockeys, horses, trainers and racing history. The whole of Australia is inactive ('the nation stops') at three o'clock pm when some 23 horses with jockeys run 3200 meters on a racecourse to a finish line in Flemington, Melbourne, Victoria.
Now I've placed the bet, I feel the excitement too.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, it is expected that more than $120 million will be spent on the 3pm race. When I asked for help at the TAB, inside our local RSL, I must have come across as quite certain of my choice. The two blokes that helped me looked twice at my set of numbers. Damian's dad had the 'trifecta' last year and often predicts the outcome of horse races so there you go. A Trifecta is the word for correctly predicting the first three finishers in the right order. The man is not aware of my big step but I'll tell you now that he will get half of the earnings. That is, if I win.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, it is expected that more than $120 million will be spent on the 3pm race. When I asked for help at the TAB, inside our local RSL, I must have come across as quite certain of my choice. The two blokes that helped me looked twice at my set of numbers. Damian's dad had the 'trifecta' last year and often predicts the outcome of horse races so there you go. A Trifecta is the word for correctly predicting the first three finishers in the right order. The man is not aware of my big step but I'll tell you now that he will get half of the earnings. That is, if I win.
TAB stands for Totalizator Agency Board (kind of a bookmakers office) and RSL is Returned Services League (Club (set up as a get-together for veterans) of which you become a member and get cheap meals, also referred to as 'the club', or ARRIE)
Gambling is very much part of Australian culture. On every jar of jam, peanut butter or breakfast cerial you have the opportunity to WIN. At every game of footy you can buy a raffle ticket for a gold coin donation to win a hamper or meat tray...(that is to support the club ofcourse...) There's a whole culture of betting with bookmakers for just about anything besides horse races (galloping, trotting and pacing) and greyhound races ('the doggies') held all over the country just about every weekend. In every pub there are rows and rows of poker machines (pokies) with always people sitting in front of them gambling their life savings away. Now that smoking is prohibited in all pubs and clubs, some have created outside smoking areas with pokies in there as well!
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