Off to the Races

It turns out I'm not as good of a judge when it comes to choosing horses at the races as I thought I might be. I finally figured this out after every horse I chose to cheer for lost. Most people in the group came home slightly in the red, but a few lucky betters broke even and the even luckier brought home some money yesterday. Maybe for next race I'm at I should choose horses based on facts rather than the horse's name or the color the jockey is wearing. I thought I would win for sure when I chose to cheer on Holyman and Obliterate, but I guess we can't win them all.

The race we went to was a little different than the big race tracks I've seen in the states. First the track itself is grass rather than dirt and there are very few seats. Most people in attendance stood in the grass down by the track or sat in one of the restaurants. I also thought there would be more fascinators (hats). Towards the end of the day I started to pick up a few tips on choosing a horse and learned that you should watch them walk around and warm up so you can see their leg muscles because that can give you some hint as to how well they do. The absolute best advice I heard was to ask the ushers at the front of the building. A couple girls on the trip asked an usher for advice and it turns out that he was right every time! I guess being around the horses so much really gives you a good sense of what they can do. The environment at the races is so fun; it truly was a fantastic experience and of my favorite activities of the program.

Starting after class this morning we have our extended weekend. Most of us are going to visit Dublin but there are people staying in England to visit some cities around Oxford. There are a few other groups going to Berlin, Amsterdam and Scotland as well. Personally I'm extremely excited to see Dublin. I've heard it's beautiful and just a really neat place. Who knows, maybe it will even get me in touch with some of my Irish roots :) Since we're experiencing a "heat wave" with temperatures in the high 70s in Oxford it might be nice to have some colder weather for the weekend in Dublin. I'm perfectly happy with the temperature here knowing that it's over 100 back in Nebraska but it is a little funny that this weather is considered to be quite warm. Look forward to some fun stories from the weekend!

Until then here are some pictures from the races.