Valparaiso Sporting Club teaser post

More to come. In the meantime, enjoy the grandstand and the green green turf course.

Club Hipico on Raceday

I know I promised pics of Valparaiso Sporting Club, and billed it as the second coming. First, enjoy these photos from a day's races at Club Hipico de Santiago, which is a spectacular track in its own right.



above: view of the grandstand from the back. this is what you see when you first walk it. it is the same pic I posted before, but NOW WITH FOUNTAINS!





above: stretch drive





above: returning to the paddock post race

Apology issued

In a previous post I drew some hard and fast conclusions which I now see were in error. My regular reader (there are unsubstaintiated rumors I may have two now) might recall the post I declared heralded American racetracks like Del Mar and Saratoga shitboxes in compare to Club Hipico de Santiago. That remians an accurate assessment, however to imply Club Hipico is the Boss before seeing Valparaiso Sporting Club in Viña del Mar was wholly unfair. This racetrack is FULL OF WIN and deserves its own post. Perhaps a series of them. I´m confident you´ll excuse my orgasmically banal verbiage once I get some pics posted. ´till then.....

Hipodromo Chile

Accross town from the lavish Club Hipico de Santiago is the modern and modest Hipodromo Chile. The racing is just as good, and the atmosphere perhaps even more festive. Race goers in suits and sundresses were of a decidedly lower percentage at Hipodromo than at Club Hipico, but there was certainly more booze consumed per capita at Hipodromo. If Hipico was keeneland, then Hipodromo would be Turfway, only with just as many graded stakes as their otherwise dominant sibling.

One other notable difference is Hipodromo has a dirt track--the only one in the nation, I´m told, and no turf course.

I´ll post some pics for your viewing pleasure shortly. [EDIT: my pics are now included! Click on the images to see them uncropped, as Blogger reformats them given the posting method i´ve employed here. Posting from the southern half of the globe is just trouble enough to induce me to comprimise my already lax standards.]

Club Hipico, Santiago, Chile

Perhaps you are familiar with Del Mar, Keeneland, Santa Anita, and Saratoga? Shitboxes, each of them. At least in compare to the grand lady in the southwest corner of Santiago, Chile.

Meet my new love, Club Hipico de Santiago.

With unapologetic colonial grandeur and bulwarked by the Andes, Club Hipico anchors a delightful neighborhood. It's occupied by endless sheets of sun gracing work-a-day clock punchers hustling forth and from, and moneyed elites being seen, to indie cafe denizens camped in one of many quaint caffeine casas lining the calles that spoke from the track.

There's no parking lot here. Still, the grandstand teems on weekends with Chileans eager for good sport and an ambient sense of jubilee, as much as a winning punt. And why not? Don't you want to sit in this GRANDstand?

TBA photo contest

You should check out the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance photo contest entires. Vote for your favs.

Google hosts treasure trove of horse racing photos from Life Magazine

On New Year's Eve I took in the racing action at San Isidro, just outside of Buenos Aires. I was profitable at the windows, but less than successful at snapping a quality pic. Thank god Google over 20% of Life's image archive is now hosted with plans to have the remainder up this year. Luckily, there were some solid Argentine racing pics to poach.