Last weekend we had the opportunity to check out the horse races over at Monmouth Park on the shore! We had been to one horse race before at the Radnor Hunt Club, but this event was a little different. The race at Monmouth Park was on a huge track with a giant stadium for seating. We were guest of America’s Best Racing and Dan, our host, really knew his stuff.
We went on Sunday, which was the last day of the big Haskell race. It was very crowded and a ton of people were pouring into the track carrying their own chairs, coolers and more. They were prepared to settle in for the day! The track has a huge BYO area where you can set up your stuff to watch the races. Or, you can sit on the benches in the regular area. We met up with Dan from America’s Best Racing and the first thing we wanted to do was have lunch!
After lunch we got a tour of the paddock, which was really cool! We got to go in a see the horses and jockeys close up! We went in between two races so we saw the horses being led out and showed off around the paddock.
We were lucky to have Dan there to answer all our questions and explain what all the numbers meant! He explained how the betting worked, too, which we tried our hand at later in the day (we lost $2).
Inside the padock there was some vendors catering towards the horse owners so we had some free wine and champagne! Cheers!
We then headed down to the track to watch some races. The vibe on the
track is excitement! Everyone is glued to the race and then the whole
crowd is cheering like mad as the horses come around the last corner
towards the finish line!
track is excitement! Everyone is glued to the race and then the whole
crowd is cheering like mad as the horses come around the last corner
towards the finish line!
Carter’s favorite part was getting to pet one of the horses! This was one of the guide horses, which are highly trained horses that help guide the race horses to the proper start point on the track and help catch rogue horses as well.
The day before we went they had a Lilly Pulitzer fashion show. They still had the Lilly booth and jeep set up so my mother in law and I were able to snap a photo with the jeep!
And they’re off!
We had a lot of fun at the races, it was definitely something I wouldn’t normally of thought of doing! It seems like a great thing to do for a day outing with the family or with a group of friends since you can bring in your own food and drinks as well! You can hang out, do a little betting if you want and just enjoy a day outside!
Have you ever been to a horse race?
Disclaimer: I was provided free entry and lunch in exchange for my review of the horse races.
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