Ridgway plays host to inaugural Indepence Race Meet
Horse Racing Betting System
Sports Writer
RIDGWAY -- And the horses are off.
Devil's in Her Eyes sprints out of the gates and is neck-and-neck with a Boy Named Sue while Rocky slips further behind the two with every stride.
All three jockeys snap their whips in crouched stances, but a Boy Names Sue soon takes a commanding lead.
The entire crowd is on its feet and people with money waged wave their betting-tickets in the air like it will make their horse run faster.
A quarter-mile later, it's a Boy Named Sue who crosses the finish line first.
Some people sit back down. But the winners, they get in line to collect their money.
The Ouray County Fairgrounds in Ridgway was the venue for this race and 10 others like it this past weekend. Despite being established 107 years ago as a horse racing facility, the inaugural Independence Race Meet was the first on the fairgrounds' half-mile track in almost 30 years.
"It's bringing something historical back," said Lori Howard, president of the Ouray County Rodeo Association. "Horse racing is a dying deal. They used to be all over and now there's hardly any."
"Everyone seems to be having a good time," said Dick Bjurstrom, committee chairman for the Friends of the (Ouray County) Fairgrounds. "We asked the people of the county what they wanted and (horse racing) is one of the things the people wanted to have."
Ridgway's Independence Race joined the Bush Track Circuit, which has races in Norwood and Gunnison.
The actual horse races were quick and only took place every half-hour, but there was other action on the track.
Before each race, the jockeys strutted their horses around to let the crowd check them out and decide if they wanted to place a bet.
Some people bet a couple of bucks on a horse, but the real action seemed to be in the calcutta betting.
In calcutta betting, people buy options in a horse they believe can win. The options, however, are auctioned off so you have to out-bid other people for them.
Multiple options are sold for each horse and the purse is split between the people who bought the winner. Some options were being sold for over $100, which could fetch a nice prize.
The organizers of the race coordinated it with the town of Ouray so "we're not stepping on each other's toes," Bjurtstrom said.
The plan was to have the races on the weekend so it wouldn't conflict with Ouray's festivities on the Fourth of July.
Since the track hadn't been used in so long, it needed a lot of work on it and the railing before it could host a race.
"It brought the community together working on this," Howard said.
Now that they've taken care of the basic necessities to hold races, the plan is to continue holding them the week of our nation's Independence Day.
"It's a great start to bringing it back. We hope to continue it on for a good long time," Bjurstrom said. "There will be racing next year. We're committed to it, it's fun to do and it's good for the community."
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