Tightly Bunched

Regarding animals...I have a lot of mixed feelings about a lot of things. Dog races, horse races, polo, the rodeo, and, I guess...even zoos. That being stated...I usually go to the dog races at least once when I'm in Florida.

I'll say this about the dogs. They don't appear to be mistreated. I've never heard one growl, or snap at their handler. They seem like they just love to run. And...run they can...5/16 of a mile in 30 seconds. You breathe and you miss the picture.

It was 50 cent Friday. 50 cents to get in, and 50 cents for hot dogs, soda pops, and beer. I wasn't going to, but I bet on one race...the 11th. They took my 2 dollars. So...my total for the afternoon was 2 hot dogs, a Diet coke, and the one bet, for a grand total of 3 dollars and 50 cents.

The crowd is both fun and not fun to watch. You always hear the classic..."Quick...go bet on #5...he just took a dump!!!" Plus...everybody thinks they're an expert. "#7 can't be a runner. He weighs too much!!" The un-fun part is hearing the couple who don't look like they should be there saying..."Honey...we REALLY need these 2 dogs to come through," and you watch as they don't.

The track had 5-6 greyhound greeters at the door when you arrived. They have quite an adoption program for them after they are done running. I had one on my mail route. A lovely creature, although they do need to be walked, as do most dogs.

Between the dogs quickness, and the size of the crowd...it is very hard to get good photos. What setting do I use? What happens when they all get strung out? Where should I point to try to focus? That, and between each race, there is a 15-18 minute break. You wait 18 minutes for a 30 second race, and then you wait some more.

A funny thing happened right before race #2. A dog (#5) escaped his handlers grasp, and jumped on and then off of the starting gates. He searched for "Swifty", the mechanical rabbit. He couldn't find him, so he took a fast lap around the track looking for that wascally wabbit. Most of the crowd were going nuts! The only ones who weren't cheering were those who had placed bets on him. He stopped near the finish line, and was wrangled in, and scratched. The bettors got refunds.

Click on LARGE for the face of intensity.