Camels, Ostriches and Zebras Race At Parx
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Sunday was Family Fun Day at Parx Racing. The sprawling picnic grounds next to the casino were set for racing and things families can do that would be fun and inexpensive. Giant slides and inflatable bounce houses were just some of the things for children to do. The other, which drew the biggest line were pony rides.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo/ Delaware Valley News.com Horse Racing was only a small part of the festivities .
There were also pumpkins that children could decorate. This facility has multiple park benches set outside and a small diner inside. The inside diner was doing a brisk business but outside, that was another story. Some of the food lines were packed. This is not a stadium where fans are robbed by overcharging for food. Here, Hot Dogs were $3.00 and roast beef was less than $9.00. A family could go there and actually not go broke.
Of course, this place is a racetrack and they want people to bet on horses. Some people will pick any horse just because they like it’s name. Others rely on handicappers. These people pour over every statistic. Who is the jockey? What is the weather? Has this jockey won before in this weather? How about the horse? When they run through a plethora of information, they arrive at the horse they think is going to win and they place odds.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo Delaware Valley News.com the band Ear Candy plays hit people know and want to hear.
Usually, horse races run at Parx and a few hundred people show up. Today was Family Fun Day and thousands came out. Starting at the break between the fifth and six race and continuing until the end. exotic animals were brought out for a small race of maybe 75 yards. People crammed next to the barricade, hoping to get a photo or video. Sorry, no bets were being taken for the exotic races.