A Day at the Races... Goat Races, that is.

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Kentucky Derby, Preakness, UVA Foxfields, Dar Es Salaam Goat Races. Synonymous, right? Drink enough of the ever-flowing alcohol and you'd agree. Think hot sun, dusty field, tents full of food and drink, and a race track smack in the middle of all the hub bub. It. Was. Awesome.
It looks totally like a normal, almost Westernized, scene. People dressed nicely, tents sponsored by restaurants, souvenir shops, costume contests, VIP area (for the goat owners), and then the races begin. There were 6 different races, with 8 goats in each. You could place bets, cheer them on, and then the prize money was customarily donated to charity at the end. The catch is... goats don't race. Well, they're in the ring and running around to a certain extent, but it's not in their blood. It just isn't their niche. So, the starting horn blows and the only reason the goats start moving is because there are actually MEN inside the track behind the goats. They are carrying a long padded length of rope which they drag behind the goats, in an effort to goad them on. This scares the goats, and they sprint ahead... until they get to a corner. Here, all bets are off, as goats confusedly turn in circles, not sure what to do with the wall they've literally just run into. The men approach and guide the goats around the curve to the next sprint-able straightaway. Four laps like this. It's complete chance as to the winner. The one race that I bet on, the very last race, had a false start where goat #8 got spooked and started running prior to the horn and men pushing. There was no way to bring the goat back in, so #8 won by a landslide. Darnit.
So the whole day was awesome, and I bought a shirt to commemorate my first day at the goat races.

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Photos

The Race Track
This is where the action went down.

And They're Off
Note the men behind the goats. I wasn't lying.

Close up
It really is a bit ridiculous