Grey Hound Racing.

I did gamble for my very first time last Thursday. Dogs are cute and practical animals, and they run quite fast, and have quite fun with that creature that are supposed to be a rabbit who they’re trying to track down. That’s a craic for both parts, so I did really enjoy it.

The race took place at Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium in Ringsend in the eastern part of Dublin, close to the place the city itself were settled some 1200 years ago. A rather professional stadium, with a lot of tweed jackets, six pence/Irish caps, a well equipped bar and a huge number of bookmakers, both official and less official, but whos present just made it a bit more real. A guess there were some 500 spectators there when we arrived just before the 3^rd race, at 20 pm. Since I had no idea how to actually place my bets, I did the second best and four minutes later I was back at the track with a fresh pint with back stuff.

Suddenly captured by the feeling of the need to spend money got me to lower my own record in consuming a pint, due to the short time between the races, and for the first time in my life I have waited longer in the queue in the bar to get served then I spent on consuming the pint. Back by the bets I start investigating the competitors. Racing dogs have quite funny names, and the statistics’ presented by the program were rather...impossible to understand, who the hell should I know if

Oct 1’08 64 525r a5 t4 2.18 21111 st 5L Ld 2,ALd 28.77 Sand 5/1 spk Smooth Maldini 28.77*

Is a complement or if it’s means that the cute little greyhound should try to do something completely different with his life and go back to County Laois?

Any who, and unknown if the resent speed consuming of Irish brewery gods had something with my decision, I found a hound, Kilhedge Queen, a local from Dublin whose odds were fairly 4:1. Since I had no knowledge, and Queen associate me with something positive, I went over and bet, compared to the other from ISS (International Student Society red.am), the huge amount of €10. Then it was straight back to the track. Kilhedge Queen are number six, in stripes (black and white).

As you perhaps may see, I won.And in the time between I placed my bet and the race started the odds had gone from 4:1 and raised to 6,5:1, that’s €65, that’s a bit. And it was there, just after I had handed in the recite, and met the others, that I finally understood the amount I actually had won. €65 is, of course depending on the pub, but at Nealy’s in Grafton Street that’s 13 pints Guinness, or at the Student Pub at UCD 16-17 pints. Taken the last case and translated over to Norwegian prices, were I remember a Guinness cost about 60kr. This means that Kilhedge Queen brought me values for some 960kr, if we use the Guinness Index! That’s a good little dog.

I did play at some other dogs, who never had a chance to win, so some of the profit did go away, but still, I managed to go back home, including a pint at Nealy’s with some friends, with more capital then when I left. Try that in Norway! Have spent some night’s at Hector’s...and you have to either do stock exchange over the cell phone or bee a thief to managed the same in the bar there.

Conclusion; I have to go back, dogs are my best friends and Hound Racing is quite a craic.