Vincennes, France – With twenty minutes to the first race at the Hippodrome Paris-Vincennes, the traffic jams outside are two miles long, horse vans are trying to cut through and make it to the race paddock area for Prix d'Amerique Day.
Lines stretch out from the track entrance as people are trying to get in before the first race goes off at noon. There is also added security checking all bags that are brought into the track. It's a pleasant madness as everyone is trying to get their place to sit or stand for the biggest days of harness racing in the world.
There are four elevators on the main floor and it takes around ten minutes to get inside one, even if you have to go down two floors and then back up to the main level and then hopefully you can get to upper floor. Everyone tries to crowd in and then the buzzer goes off and one or two have to leave before the door will close.
But being stuck on the elevator at the Hippodrome Paris-Vincennes is not such a bad thing as each elevator has a television monitor in it so you can views the races.
The languages spoken throughout the plant are intense, French, Swedish, English (USA, Ireland, UK), German, Finnish, Norwegian, Italian and more. Same goes in the race paddock.
The best part is that everyone is happy and looking forward to a great day of racing. It's cloudy and some fog but around 50 so it is not so cold like earlier this week and fortunately no rain.
The first race just went off and the day starts with a 14-1 long shot, Feline De Calvi with driver David Thomain coming from off the pace to win going away down the stretch.
More to come!
by Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink