Living Local in Paris #3

We recently discovered another local activity--going to the racetrack.  

On a recent cool Sunday, we took a short train ride to a northern suburb of Paris, the town of Enghien-les-Bains, a former spa town that is home to a casino and a horse racing track, the Hippodrome d'Enghien.

  

At Hippodrome d'Enghien, trotters are featured.  We saw trotters pulling drivers on sulkies and  --something we had never seen -- trotters with mounted jockeys.  The races were very fast paced, usually with a couple of laps of the track.  We placed some bets but walked away empty-handed.  Still, it was exciting to watch the horses run.  Plus, Marie-Chantal, who grew up riding horses, enjoyed seeing the horses and all the colorful outfits worn by rider and horse alike.  

Here is a photographic tour of our visit.  Enjoy!  

Fans could watch the races from the grandstand or from a grassy area next to the outside rail.

We visited the paddock to see the horses and riders up close.  

We watched most of the races while standing next to the rail.  Up close, it was more exciting.  We had a better sense of the horses' speed and exertion (breathing heavily and getting lathered).  Plus, we could see how hard the riders were working.  It was nice to see that some of the jockeys were women.  

The racetrack has a large betting hall, where fans can watch and bet on races at Enghien and elsewhere in France and Europe.

Here are some losing tickets.

The racetrack is family-friendly, with free admission and lots of free activities for children.  We saw many families with children.  We were very surprised because we have not seen children at U.S. racetracks in the past.  

One free activity for the children was riding a pony.  Below, Number 15 Little Brownie, despite short legs, wins by a nose.  

Another fun activity was racing sulkies.

Many children enjoyed watching the horses race and they also enjoyed meeting one of the horses in person.  Below, Trotty poses for a photo with a new best friend.  

We also enjoyed the landscaping at the racetrack.  The area was very clean and well-maintained, so it was a pleasant place to spend the afternoon.

Some random dude, a/k/a Jean-Claude

Thanks for living local with us and visiting the racetrack.