The Horse Tracks: First to Pass the Post

The Sun Maker Special News Feature: The Sport of Kings

It is Sunday. The time? 14:57 pm. In Buenos Aires, thousands of people take to their passion…Horse Track Racing. With four tribunes, a casino, and several cafes, the Race Track Houses of Buenos Aires offer diverse services for the day, and for the night. However, for the Horse-Race fans there is one main attraction; the Horses and the Riders. The Stallions, the Mares, the jockeys and the race soon to start.

The illuminated numbers on the billboard, mark the 17 races. The money rolls in amounting the total. The people who are inside are calm but invigorated. The movement of the horses on display before the race is majestic.

World Wide Horse Track racing is a multibillion dollar business. The sport of Horse Racing is said to be the Sports of Kings. As an equestrian sport it draws from a history that transcends the centuries. It has also, evolved. An outstanding Horse can be worth millions of dollars. Race Horses are treasured by their jockeys, owners, trainers and by their fans. A horse can win over and over in the tracks. There are legendary horses linked to the people and to history. Horses have raced through times of economic crisis and through times of abundance. The most exceptional horses are used for horse breeding.

The language of Horse Track Racing is complex. The people who speak it are present in all continents of the World. From Asia, India, Middle-East, Europe, to North and South America, the art of Horse track Racing knows no normal frontiers. Horse Track Racing generates yearly thousands of billions of dollars. The total amount of world wide profits can not be entirely estimated.

In Buenos Aires the entrance to the track is a gateway. Once crossed over a new world unfolds. Gentleman and women walk the premises, well dressed. Man in hats take the vision, of the tracks, on a nostalgic ride into the years passed. Some men carry colourful horse gear. Families and visitors curiously wonder about. The people, who can be considered horse track fans, take to the place with passion and with certain silent understanding. The buildings are of great quality. But the tracks and horses are the air of this atmosphere. The price for admission in Buenos Aires is free.

After proper introductions, we get the Horse Tracks Press Office permission to take images. We are granted permission to film and photograph the tracks, the race, the horses and the display of horses, of the Horse Tracks of Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

At the display, before the race, the horses walk extraordinarily in elliptic circles. The horses eyes pass by looking out at, wide open. An individual inner world can be intuited from within the horses look. Their walk is firm and strong. It is obvious that the race is in horses´ mind or maybe even in their soul. As they transit the boardwalk, awaiting for the jockey-riders to mount, the people watch the spectacle with indescribable expressions. A stallion scans with a gaze the environment. The Stallion shuffles, and moves rapidly in a powerful display of strength. Then he breathes it off, self assured and irradiating confidence. The horses continue their walk, magnetically hypnotizing the place.

Equestrian breeders say the Argentinean Horse is ideal for great resistance. Some Horses in Argentina race as long as 750 km in 15 days. Argentinean horses are priced internationally for their strength, endurance, speed, harmony and balance. The Argentinean horse is called Criollo. Internationally they are Horses of Export of the highest value for Equestrian Sports such as; Polo, Horse Track Racing and others. The International Federation of Criollo Breeders knows the history of their horses. The Criollo Horses descend from the Spanish horse of the XVI Century. The legend says they where set free in the wilderness of the new continent, in South America. They say, that during four centuries these horses roamed free. By natural selection the Criollo Horse crossed over times and generations. They are considered, resistant, and highly adaptable. The Criollo Horse is medium in size, but harmonic and balanced. Its has strong muscles and low centre of gravity. It’s races are inspiring.

As we see them gallop, sprint or pace, we notice that the horses attitude is well fundamental in their loose stable, agile and fast movements. It is obviously an energic and active horse with great personality. Experts in Horse Breeding agree that the racial characteristics of the Criollo is defined by fertility, connectivity resistance, power, courage and ability to adapt and recover.

At Horse Tracks in Buenos Aires, the legendary tracks have their own history. The Horse Tracks of Buenos Aires where inaugurated in the year 1876. Ten thousands people where among the lucky ones to witness the first race. The greatest price in Buenos Aires is the National Grand Price. It was run for first time in 1885. It is a 2500 metres race.

Historic and immaculate Horses roam the spirit of Buenos Aires. They have moved on in Transatlantic voyages, their story reaching millions. One legendary horse remembered is in Buenos Aires, was Old Man. Old Man was the son of a British Stallion named Orbit, and descended from the French Mare Moissonneuse. Moissonneuse herself descended from the French Stallion, Dollar. Old Man in Buenos Aires, ran 19 official races. It won 18 times. Two of these races where won by walk-over. This means no other horse dared to run against it. The year was 1901.

Other horses such as Botafogo, Yatasto and Lunático where not only notorious in the tracks but became the inspiration for many lyrics of tango songs. These tango songs also crossed the seas, racing into the hearts of the mystical tango singers, musicians, and dancers. Jockeys such, Domingo Torterolo, Irineo Leguisamo, Máximo Acosta and Marina Lazcano are all part of the rich local history.

Today in the year 2010, to know the racing horses is to be inside the Racing Tracks. In Buenos Aires, the bell rings. The final call. The horses begin to align behind the gate. The horses behind the starting line await to be set free. They are no strangers to the world of racing. They get their kicks off in the tracks. The horses for a moment become part of the people, and part of the track itself. It all becomes a unity. It becomes a Horse Race.

It can take years for a horse to get to the starting line. Most horses never make it at all. The training is hard and the competition is fierce. Who will put up a good race tends to be a mystery. The Sports of Kings, is a gamble of nature. As the Stallions pass by, they showcase their power. Traces of beautiful wild nature. There is no doubt about it, the Horses are the stars in this arena.

The racing horses continue to align in the distance. For a moment everything is calmed. The wind brings in a breeze. The people at the tracks become silent. The Bell that called out for the horses to be set in position created that silence. The new legends begins… The numbers on the billboard, shift and rise, to the thousands. The bets closed drawn in yellow light numbers counting again the increased final amounts.

Once the Horses are in place, brown, black and poised, an ambulance moves in behind the starting point. At certain distance it reminds everyone about the possible dangers of Horse Track Racing. All is set, all is in line. This is the fourth race and still it makes itself wait. It is a bright sun that sets the tone of the afternoon. The distance of this race is of 1,000 metres. The people begin to take positions. The excitement reaches them from the starting line. Televised, the Horses breath and their movements are the final moments of an animal in a cage that knows it will be set free. The images are digitalized in the giant screen, in high definition the details close in on the time.

The Tribunes are filled and packed. It is also their final moment. The sun shines on the dirt that will soon be lifted from the ground. The announcer breaks the silence. Over the speaker he speed talks his way through the names of the Horses and Jockeys. The money on the billboard by the screen rises and flashes again, the thousands doubled. The flags try to touch the sky and swirl in high winds. The white fence is the only thing that separates the people from the track. The clouds in the horizon move rapidly to the west... And in the most unexpected moment, the familiar voice of the announcer screams over the speakers, “And they are on their way!” Just like that.. Our eyes are on it, all eyes are on it. The sounds begin to roll with the heart that had stopped and now beats again.

Fourth race. 17,18, 19, 20 21. Winner, second and third. Ten thousands, Houndreds and 88. First 200 metres, first 25. Sixteenthousans, one houndred and sixty three. Exact. Three thousands, sixhoundred and fourty one, Imperfect. One thousands and ninty one, double. Five thousand increments. “From the open, comes in closer, the jockey…” the announcer voices on the speakers runs the words packed into the race. The people, however, can see it for themselves.

On the giant screen, the horses race, coming closer to finish line. Coming closer to the people. For a brief instant visitors interrupt with voices, "We should have come with someone who knows their horses", one woman says. The crowd is filled with experts, and occasional visitors. Some families have brought their children, who are fascinated with the race in their own way. It is Sunday. It is Sunday Horse Track Racing.

And then the screen is no longer needed. In seconds the dust comes upon the place. The horizon become lighted with fast shadowy figures of wild horses. They take the vision, they take the life to the speed limits. “Ride, ride, Sweep it!” one man shouts over the crowd, soon more imitate him with passion. The men begin to encourage their horses and the voices create a cloud of shouting voices that rise in volume and with expectation. Coming closer, the horses bring another sound. This sound is louder even than the screaming of the people. This sound is the sound of music, of Horses released into the race. Free, the sounding march of firm fast gallop crosses through as the sound of jets. Speeding they pass the finish line and continue. In less than a minute it is all over.

First to pass the post. The politics and social worries forgotten by the vision of the King’s Horses. The sport, the animals, the carrousel, the show, they all move, bringing representation into the horse tracks. There is second and third place, but honestly, the first to pass the post is victorious.

With the emotion still settling in. The people begin to awaken. “They are preparing for the next race”, a man says in lound voice to his companion. The Horse riders approach the people and the jockeys dismount. A few hundreds metres down the end of the last tribune, that is exactly was is going on. More horses walk in circles as they are displayed. People at windows drop in their bets. The Sport of Kings continues.

This was just the Fourth race, there will be a fith, and a sixth and seventh and so on. A man holding the mounting gear of a horse walks among the people says repeatedly, "we are here, we are here”. As giving his support to his team. The bright nights lights of the Horse tracks switch on. More races will come. Each race will have a favourite, and a un unexpected. Each race will be raced to the finish. Night racing, double the emotion, double the ride, double the price, double the horses. Night Horse tracks.

Special Thanks to the Palermo, Horse Race Track, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
www.palermo.com.ar

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