Apologies for the delay in this update, but seeing as how I went to the Grand National today, I wanted to be able to share my experiences about it.
A good friend of mine's cousin gave me a ticket to go see the Grand National horse race at Aintree today. So 6 guys piled into a people-carrier, and headed 4 hours north of London, for 4 hours of racing and then piled back in for the 4 hour drive home. Wow was it an experience. For those who have never looked at horse racing as an event, watch the Grand National next year. Thousands of people flock to a tiny town outside of Liverpool for three days of horse racing, the biggest of which is the Grand National which occurs on the Saturday. 40 horses face off over 4 miles and 4 furlongs to try and win a big cash prize. The fences are high, and so are the bets. Some estimates put 30 million pounds bet on just the one race. I personally dropped 40 quid on the race, and managed to pick the winner and the runner-up, which is no mean feat given that out of 40 horses, less than half actually complete the circuit with most falling over fences and out of the race. Overall, I did quite well, 30 quid up on the day. Excellent stuff.
Aside from the racing though, the event is quite the spectacle to watch. All the spectators get dressed to the nines, with ladies wearing cocktail gowns and colourful hairpieces. The men are mostly in suits, and between the 2 of them, a lot of drinking and gambling is to be had. Horse racing has long been associated with the poshest of the posh, but I was surprised and happy to see that most of the punters are everyday folk who just want to have a good time at the races.
Pictures will be following.
I also have exciting reports about a visit from the founder of Roland, and demonstration by King Crimson's drummer. But as I'm running out of time (I have to go to bed to get up for work tomorrow), I will save those tales for tomorrow or Tuesday.
Cheers,
S.P.
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