Oddball experience at the track today

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I went to Turfway Park racetrack today with the head of my office. We took seats (first come first serve) at a table just behind the 2nd floor seats. I put my racing papers (and I brought a LOT of papers) on the table and my bag by the seat, and also got a popcorn and soda from the snack bar. After two races, we were thinking about moving since there were a lot of smokers around us. But we decided to wait it out one more race.

Jim and I went to the machines to make our bets (the machines are about 40 feet from the seats, but they face away from the seats). Before you say “dumb move”, I’ve done the same thing hundreds of times before, with nary an incident. Until today, when it WAS a dumb move.

When I finished placing my bets, I went back to the seats only to find Jim standing behind the seats, looking bemused. Some drunk patron had taken Jim’s seat. Furthermore, he was helping himself to my popcorn! :eek:

I went up to him and said “What are you doing with my popcorn?”
He slurred “I didn’t know anyone was sitting here.”
“What do you think all these papers are for? And the food?”
“I dunno, I just thought they were papers”.
I grabbed my stuff, tossed the popcorn AND the soda (who knows if he helped himself to that, too) in the trash, and we took the opportunity to relocate to a less smoky level. I then reported the incident to security; I don’t know what happened, except that they talked to him, but let him stay there after that.

How dumb/drunk do you have to be to take food from an obviously occupied seat? And how early do you have to start drinking to go for someone else’s snacks after just 2 races?

Props to Jim, who, after this happened, got a popcorn and let me share.

2

Unless your attending the Kentucky Derby, your probably not rubbing shoulders with High Society when you go to the racetrack. My guess is it wasn’t the first time this guy has helped himself to some of the free hors d’eouvres at the local pony show.

3

I remember when I started going to the races 40 odd years ago, here in Australia, it was the one environment steeped in the Aussie drinking culture where you never saw poor behavior. No pathetic, slobbering drunks, no fights but now Aussie racecourses are no better than anywhere else with lots of alcohol.

4

The local racetrack here is where the trailer trash go when they really want to do some slummin’.

5

Yeah, I’ve heard less than flattering things about Fairmount Park.

That reminds me; I visited Thistledown, in Cleveland, back in August. Not a terrible track; but there was a really old guy looking at the horses in the paddock when he saw one who really looked ready to run (and who ended up winning), causing the old guy to loudly proclaim that “he’s gonna run like a Jew in a junkyard”. That was a new one on me!