July 20, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Vancouver, Professional & Spectator Sports
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What's a great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon? Watching wiener dog races at the Hastings Race Course Track, of course! Having never been to the track before, I was compelled to go this Sunday to watch cute wiener dogs battle it out in a 20m dash. There were 3 heats, which took place in between the horse races. The dogs were hilarious to watch, even though not all crossed the finish line: some ended up going backwards, others circled each other and one just plain decided he didn't want to race anymore. But the two that did cross the finish line got loud cheers from the crowd for their photo finish race.
Although the wiener dogs were fun to watch (note: they only happen once a year), the horse races were definitely my favourite. It was great getting beers, hot dogs and placing cheap bets on the horses (you can bet as low as $2.00), and then cheering on your horse as they whipped by you! Word of advice: betting solely on the cool-factor of a horse's name is not a good strategy, and may lose you a few bucks. Overall it didn't matter that I lost money, because there was nothing better than spending a day in the sun, having some drinks and food and watching horses race by!