A Day at the Races

A day with the family. A fantastic day as well.


I had fun.

Last year when i came back home for my flying visit i attended the W.S. Cox Plate at out local racecourse Moonee Valley. Last year i went with my parents who go with friends every year and as much as i enjoyed the day and the races, i got shitfaced due to the excessive alcohol i drank to pass the time. I state again i enjoyed the day but there was no one i knew outside of my parents on the table. This year Chris and Narelle joined me and i must say i had a fantastic day. Brothers in Arms

Now Melbourne during Spring Carnival is awash with the sounds of thouroghbreds thundering over the turf, champagne bottles opening in marquee tents, the shouts of the bookies in the betting ring and the screeching of pissed chicks making their way home shoes flung over their shoulders. For 50 days Melbourne is the centre of the horse racing universe and the Cox Plate is one of the biggest races on the Racing calendar.

Now i prefer the Cox Plate to the Melbourne Cup. The Melbourne Cup is such a huge event with 24 horses staking their claim as the premier distance horse for the year, it's more than a horse race, it's actually a tapestry of what makes Australia great. For me the Cox Plate is a race of quality over quantity. Only 12-14 horses take part at a venue that would be on par with Happy Valley in Honkers in terms of atmosphere and a sence of intimacy. The race last year was an epic and this years build up was the same. I'm not really into horse racing but i was really looking forward to coming back to the valley. The day started off with free drinks whereby half a jug of beer was gone before entree was served. There were 12 people on our table and the day just flew. I actually had to place bets on a race on behalf of the whole table. There were 6 horses in the race and i couldn't even pick a result. I know i'm shit at betting on horses and today was groundhog day as my betting legacy (or lack of it) continued on it;s merry way. I didn't picka winner all day.



But that didn't worry me. Just spending time with the family as a whole was great. The alcohol situation was better than last year as i didn't throw up this time but i did have a late night pizza as tradition would dictate. The Pepper family had a wonderful time at Moonee Valley and by the looks of it we will be back in 2007. This may be the start of an enjoyable relationship with the horses.