Race day in Chantilly

Sunday we went to the Prix de Diane which is what i figure the 2nd crown of the french quadruple crown if there was one. anyway it's at Chantilly which is a beautiful little town north of paris. after taking a short train ride from our local train station where we were crowded in with all the other hat wearers and gamblers. we were in this purty little horse town. from the train station there is a wide path through these dark woods that everyone takes to the track. when the woods end there are miles and miles of green grass and in front of us is this huge palace that helicopters are flying in and out of and to the right there is the stadium. kind of like nascar but with family picnics with sandwiches, cheese, and of course wine everywhere instead of tailgatin with cheesepoofs and busch light. i wish it was a combo of both, sandwiches, cheese and some kinda american beer (i love wine, and the beer here is good but anymore than 2 drinks you wanna lie down and take a nap), but they are both parties and one is a party where you can gamble, which makes it little less of rager because you wanna be able to think a little bit. it was a lotta fun, i hadnt been to a live race since deets and i went up to maryland when we were like 18. the rush you get having your horse come down the stretch and win your bet is like no other. esp when the horse comes out of nowhere, thatll give you goose bumps. i went 3 for 5 on the day. i lost the first race, got on a hot streak, then lost the prix de diane. cc went 0 for 5 but she was just betting 2 euros on longshots. the prix race was a blow out- the horse was a monumental favorite and had such a lead that the jockey started blowing kisses to the crowd before even the crossing the finish line. i got a really good shot of this, i just need to figure out how to crop my photos. after the race we walked into town and ate at an italian place, where i had skate with a beurre blanc and capers and olives. i think it was the 1st time ive had skate, where have i been? it was really good.