Victoria Derby Day

Day 89

Breakfast

Finally the day is here! Victoria Derby Day - the day that we are going to do what the Ah Peks at Kranji do every weekend - horse betting. We were supposed to meet Jiaqi and Shenton at 11am to go to Flemington, the race grounds, but at 1045am, Jiaqi called to say they were not ready and told us to go ahead and meet the rest of the group first. Well, we weren't ready too. We haven't had breakfast so we told them we will wait for them to go together. Finally, we left our place at 12 and it started to rain! Luckily, I managed to squeeze the long umbrella into my bag and it certainly came in very handy today.

We took the train to the Flemington, thinking that the rest of the group should be there already but.....they were late too! So we were stranded at the entrance with no tickets. The rain started to get heavier and it really dampened everyone's spirits. 

When we finally entered the race grounds, it was CROWDED. Probably because of the rain, everyone was hiding under the shelters. We had to squeeze through the crowd to get to our seats and when we got there, we saw that our seats were taken! These people were sitting there without tickets. They are simply hopping around the free seats and when we told them these are our seats, they didn't even apologise! Rude!

The seats were good. We were sheltered from the rain and we were right next to the finishing line! Brillant! It was time to get drinks and food. Mr Tan was hungry. Haha. But first, we need to bet! How can we checked Derby Day off our to-do list without betting? We looked at the table, went through the names of the horses and the odds and just whacked. No analysis of the form of the horses, no tips, just bet.

With the bet in hand, we were just like the Ah Peks. Standing, shouting and gesturing as the horses ran. It was exciting. And it felt great to see the number of your horses flashed on the big screen! Money, money, money! Shenton, Jiaqi and us were the only ones who won money at the end of the day. Lucky us! The rest of the group lost all their bets. Jasmine - Claypot! Haha.

After 5 bottles of champagne and an additional $30 in our pockets, it was time to leave. Although I had to shout to be heard, although we had to chase the rude people away, although the rain was a nuisance, although it was wet and cold, I still enjoyed myself today! Perhaps it was the champagne, perhaps it was the winnings or perhaps it was the company. Although we were super tired, both Mr Tan and I enjoyed ourselves today! :)

 

 

 

 

Our Winnings!