Santa Anita Park Thoroughbred Racing Fans

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To thoroughbred horse racing fans, Santa Anita Park in Arcadia is the place to go this winter. The Park offers live horse racing in the backdrop of the magnificent San Gabriel Mountains. Except for occasional tourists, horse racing fans are not there for the scenery but to bet and win on horse races. Thoroughbred racing fans also called handicappers are using race programs and tip sheets to analyze and bet on horse races. To the handicappers, winning a bet on a horse race is like smoking marijuana. There is the euphoria of watching the horses run in the oval track. When the horses run toward the finish line, the fans roar urging their favorite horse to edge ahead and win. After a race, fans with winning tickets are showing exhilaration by pumping fists, lingering wide smiles, and animated recollection of how they pick the winner. At Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, thoroughbred racing fans come to get an adrenaline rush from watching and winning bets on horse races. Essentially, three of four racing fans seeking excitement of live horse racing at Santa Anita Park are middle age and older men. The rest are young men, women and kids. In addition, the fans wear neat attire in brown, gray, or black outerwear. Also, the fans clustered in pairs, family groups, and peer groups. First, there are couples of male and female pair, father and son, mother and daughter, and peer friends. Secondly, the family groups range from a young couple with a toddler in tow to a multi-generational group of grandparents, parents, and kids. This group usually stays together near the race track watching the horses gallop toward the starting post. At least once, members of this group may try their luck by betting on the races. Lastly, the peer groups are mostly m... ... middle of paper ... ... comes at once making the smile grows wider, the hands form fists, and an exclamation comes out: “Yeah!” As has been observed, thoroughbred racing fans come to Santa Anita Park in Arcadia in groups. Three-fourth of the fans is middle age or older. Furthermore, they are neat, smart, and machine savvy. Racing fans come to Santa Anita Park to socialize and to be part of the euphoria of watching a horse race. Moreover, the racing fans hone their analytic skills to pick the winning horse. Also, by staking money on a race, the fans become participants as if they are the jockey riding the favored horse to the finish line. Consequently, by winning on the race, the fans experience that exhilarating winning feeling driven by adrenaline rush. This feeling of being a winner is addictive and for this reason, thoroughbred racing fans come back regularly to Santa Anita Park.

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