#8 Bet at a horse race

Sunday was race day! Golden Gate Fields has Dollar Days on Sundays in the summer which means for the low low price of $1 each you get: parking, entry, a program, beer and hot dogs! Horses, cheap beer and hot dogs?!?! Uh yea this event is right up my alley. They also theme each Sunday and it turns out we showed up for Hispanic Heritage Dollar Day- they also have live music playing so we saw mariachi players wandering around between races. We got up not so bright and early (my B but sleeping is just so fun) and got to the race track just in time to hit some serious traffic - the freeway exit is the worst intersection I've ever seen and at least three cars almost got hit while we were waiting to turn. Finally we parked (be sure to ask for the $1 parking-which they do not advertise- or you'll pay $8) and headed to the entrance just to see a giant line of people waiting to get in.

After waiting for 15 minutes we noticed some people walking right past the line- why? Because there were three other lines and this only fed the line on the far right siiiiigh. Finally we got inside and had to stand in another line to get a wrist band (wasn't too bad) and then in a line for tokens (can't buy any of the dollar day deals with actual money) and then finally in a line for beer and hot dogs. By that point you might say that I was 'hangry' and I ate the tiny hot dog in 4 bites. I thought it wasn't that bad of a deal considering it was only a $1 but Ryan suggested they make them $0.50 next time- probably would have been more reasonable. Also the beers are poured into really small cups so while its still a fairly good deal don't be expecting a regular sized cup.

Our suggestion for avoiding lines as much as possible:
-once you get inside, go to the booths on the far side near the winners circle as they are way less crowded than the ones just inside the entrance
-buy as much as  you can carry- for example for $4 my first time in line I got: 2 beers (the max you can get at a time), a hot dog and a water
-try to get in the dollar line for the last time around race 5 (they close before race 7 so its a disaster to wait in lines around race 6)
-don't get nachos (more on that later)

After getting some energy back we headed over to check out the horses in the second race. This is serious business for some people. Ryan and Lindsey had actually been to the races before and had a general idea of what was going on - I was going based off which horse I thought was pretty and which horse had a cool name.

My first favorite horse for the first race we watched was #6 (sorry forget the name already)- look how cute he is:

So he did not win but he did place 4th (out of 6) so good try buddy! The first pic of this post is of his race- he tried really hard so I was proud of him. We watched a couple races right next to the track before heading upstairs in search of nachos. Please note my sun safety (hat, shoulders covered and loaded up on the SPF 45)- as you might notice I'm pigment challenged (aka just super pale and burn like a mother) so while it was super sunny by the track it was nice and shaded upstairs which is a plus in my book.

Soooo nachos- yup worst idea ever. Lindsey and I were both craving them after seeing people wandering around and stuffing their face with cheesy goodness. Turns out the only place that sold nachos was the Track Snack bar which had a line literally half the length of the race track. By that point we reeeeally wanted nachos so I stool in line while Lindsey and Ryan placed bets for the 5th race- so yup checked an item off my list by betting on #4 'No Baby' the favorite to win. 

However instead of watching No Baby run (got 3rd place I think) I was still in the line for nachos. Why? At a certain point leaving the line feels pointless because you've already gone that far- luckily my line actually moved whereas Lindsey and Ryan never really made it that close to the front. We had decided to split up so I went to stand in the indoor line of the Track Snack bar hoping it would be faster. Lindsey and Ryan had to deal with being shoved (you're right in the middle of a main aisle) and having people cut in line while I dealt with screaming children, people smoking, drunk people bumping me (we were right next to the bar) AND a pregnant lady that was trying to cut in front of me. I realize that she's pregnant and that standing in line is not her idea of a good time but hell no lady!!! I was determined to get those nachos and I waited 45 freaking minutes for those things and was not in the mood to be a generous person...please note this would also fall under me being 'hangry'. Unfortunately by the time I got to the front they were all out of the nacho grande so we ended up with the plain cheese- as eloquently stated by Ryan 'they taste like disappointment'. So yes nachos are not worth it- the ribs or pulled pork sandwich I saw people eating however DID look worth it.

We left before the last race to avoid the massive crowd that was there that day but it was still a fun day- I definitely want to go back but maybe will avoid the dollar days crowds and go on a regular race day.