By Mike

These are not the high society races of Ascot, more the local country meeting of Wincanton that I remember from my childhood.

We set off at 10:00 to allow us some time to do a bit of shopping before meeting Lynda & John at 12:00.

We stopped on the way into Thames to get some roof racks for Jo’s car.

We drove on to Thames arriving just in time to meet with Lynda and John for coffee before going off to the races.

After a few detours, because taking the wrong turnings, we finally made to the race course. The entry fee was $5 each, not a large amount to pay but still too much for some, as previous years entry had been free.

To get to the parking we drove across the race course and parked up, then having to cross the racecourse on foot to get to the stands.

The meeting is not just about the races but it’s about meeting old friends and family that you have not seen for some time.

We were advised on the type of bet to place,a quinella, picking 3 horses and only requiring two to finish in first and second place. Not too difficult ! !

We tried our hand but soon we realised that we didn’t have a clue what we were doing. After losing on the first two races we then discovered the running sheets for the meeting, along with the notes on the horse’s recent performances.

The ones both Jo & I had been backing all seemed to be the ones that had seen better days.

So we decided to leave while we still had some money left and before the big rush at the end of the meeting.