Monday, October 22, 2012

Off to the Races

Saturday hubs and I were guests of a work colleague for the steeplechase event known as The Race at Far Hills.  This is our third time to attend and this year's running definitely gets a blue ribbon for the weather. What a gorgeous day!


It's still fall here people, in all her multi-colored glory, which means I must mention it at least ten or a hundred times on my blog.


About 35,000 people tailgate and apparently these tickets are like gold. Race go-ers hang on to their same sites from year to year in much the same way football fans hang on to their season tickets.  It's quite an eclectic group and you see a little bit of everything amongst the masses on race day,  including Mr. and Mrs. Master of the Hunt...


a fox, because every horse event needs one...


a Scotsman watching Mr. Awesome Golf Pants play the bagpipes...he wasn't half bad...


and the occasional flying horse....


Of course.

It rained buckets here all day Friday so we had to traipse across some mud to reach the tent. Fortunately we were in what I think is the best location of the whole racecourse, a grassy hill on the end. We have a fabulous view of the entire track sans mud, plus our own restrooms that actually flush. The people on the field must stand in super long queues for the privilege of using a port a pot.

Yes, I do know I've written two full sentences discussing restrooms, but these things matter when you're outside for an entire day.


Do you see that mass of people? If you look beyond the first mass of people,  and then beyond the horses, and then to the second mass of people you'll understand.


Our hosts always do such a wonderful job with the tablescapes and the food (breakfast and lunch).  Monies raised go to support the cancer center at a nearby hospital so the betting is all in good fun.  


There are six races, but we always try to duck out before the final, because the one thing event organizers have not managed to perfect is getting the tens of thousands of attendees out of the park in a timely fashion. We learned this the hard way the first year we attended.


On the way home we decided to detour into a town not far from the race to grab dinner. Hubs and I have been craving Indian food which we ate at least once a week when we lived in England.  Alas, no Indian restaurants in our tinytown, or even the closest tinytowns, but a friend suggested we give this one a try and it was fabulous, the food and service both.


Chicken Tikka Masala and Bhindi Bhaji might not be typical race fare, but they did make for a perfect ending to a picture perfect day.

12 comments:

  1. What a fun day! Looks like the weather was glorious!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Joyce you have the most interesting adventures! : ) And of course you can discuss Fall as long as we can enjoy her!!Winter will be here all too soon . . .

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sure does look like you had fun. Yes, Bathrooms are important when one is out and about.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a fun day you had! Looks like you had fantastic weather ... good thing the rain came through on Friday ... even though it left behind the mud you had to traipse through.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I fully understand the importance of the bathroom set-up.:) It looks like you had a great day and I agree that the Indian food was the perfect way to end it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. As much as I love horses, this sounds like my cup of tea! Glad you enjoyed yourselves!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Attending is a horse race (or event of the same ilk) is on my 101 list. I lived vicariously through your post of the post time kind. Oh, and I think I could write more than 2 sentences about public bathrooms and the scoping out of such and the logistics of getting out of the throngs of potty-goers before the last thing on the agenda. And count me in for Indian food any time. I am now REALLY in the mood for it after you mentioned Chicken Tikka Masala. Yum.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Now that looks like fun. I sure do enjoy going to the races with my dad and I had recently gone when we were in Chicago. Mark and I recently had a conversation about Indian food. He mentioned how when he is in the London area or outskits with business they always want to go out for Indian food!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, what fun! I've always wanted to go to The Kentucky Derby, but this looks like it would just as much fun. And, yes, port a potties are most important and they were important to us as we trecked through all the festivals this past weekend. Except they were not the flushing kind. Yuck! Have a great week my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  10. what fun...good thing to do over a weekend ;)

    ReplyDelete
  11. IT's so cool that y'all go to that! And how nice that you have such a nice place to pee! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've been back-tracking and catching up with you! I enjoyed all of your beautiful photography and Smilebox video very much. Thanks for sharing the beautiful sights of your area of the country--including the horse races :)

    ReplyDelete