I admit it: I have never been to a dog race before! But Australia is full of firsts for me, it's just I didn't expect this to be one of them. I surely should have seen some dog races in England but somehow it never came to my mind. Together with two other German Au pairs who live nearby I decided fairly spontaneously to have a look at the races on a Wednesday as the entry is free then. On Saturdays you have to pay to get in. I picked the two 18-year-old girls up and we made our way to Cannington, only a 15 minute drive away to the Greyhound racing grounds where we arrived at about 7:30pm.
We were a little bit surprised by the simplicity of the race track and how few people there were. The races start already at about 6:40pm but there are up to 9 races per race day. We had a quick look around before we went inside the building. It is winter here and therefore it was quite cold.
From inside we had a good look onto the racing track and the board. We were in time for the 5th race of the evening. Suddenly I saw the dogs approaching and without a seconds thought I ran out and down to the race track to see them up close. I totally forgot about the girls and also about my handbag!
Anyway, when I got up close to the dogs I saw a sign about photography not being allowed on this race track. Ops! We set in the front to see the race (they luckily brought my handbag with them!). I found it rather funny how the Greyhounds raced after the fake bunny (or something) and was a bit surprised by how small the dogs are. After the short race we went inside again. Lots of monitors where showing the races and poker tables were set up.
Then we bet on the dogs on the following three races. I lost 250 AUD on the first one, so I got a bit more cautious and won 74 AUD over the next two. YEAH! Of course we only fake bet on the dogs. I would never bet my hard-earned Au pair money on some dogs whose names I don't even know.
Well, after the 8th race we left again and I drove the girls back home. It was good to see the races but I am too old to hang out with 18-year-olds. SERIOUSLY! The girls are very nice and I wish them all the best but I need to find me some people my age. Therefore I hope to meet up with Twiggy again.
My next stop: Kings Park Festival!
Yours Greyhound-race-watching Stefanie
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Have your say now! Would you do the same thing or would you do it differently? Do you have any travel tipps for me for my onwards travels? let me know!