So, the other weekend, my buddy Dave called me up. Said he was bored, I was bored, and he’d heard about this place, Colonial Downs, out in New Kent County. Honestly, hadn’t thought much about horse racing since I was a kid, maybe saw it on TV once or twice. But Dave was keen, said they had these machines too, something called “historical horse racing”. Sounded kinda weird, but hey, what else were we gonna do? Sit around watching paint dry?
Getting There and First Look
We decided to just drive down on Saturday morning. Took my old pickup. The drive wasn’t too bad, mostly highway once we got out of the city sprawl. Pulled into the parking lot, and gotta say, it was bigger than I expected. Lots of cars already. Looked pretty modern, not some dusty old track like I maybe pictured in my head.
Walking in, it felt kinda like a mix between a casino and, well, a racetrack I guess. Bright lights inside in one area, but then you could see the actual track out the windows. Clean place, lots of folks milling around. Seemed like a mix of serious bettor types and people like us, just looking around.
Trying Things Out
First thing we did was just wander. Found our way outside to see the actual track. It’s impressive, seeing the scale of it, the stands. No live races were happening right when we got there, but you could feel the history, kinda. Then Dave dragged me back inside to check out those machines he mentioned.
Okay, these “historical horse racing” machines…
They look just like slot machines, seriously. Rows and rows of them. You put your money in, press buttons. Instead of cherries and bells, it shows you snippets of old horse races, but like, with the horse names and stuff hidden. You’re technically betting on the outcome of these old races. Felt a bit odd, not gonna lie. Like playing slots but with extra steps.
- Put in twenty bucks.
- Mashed some buttons on a few different machines.
- Watched some blurry old race clips.
- Lost the twenty bucks pretty quick. Ha! No surprise there.
Dave did a bit better, won like ten bucks and immediately cashed out. Smart guy.
Watching a Live Race
Later in the afternoon, they started the live races. We grabbed a couple of beers and found a spot by the railing outside. Now this felt more like what I imagined. You hear the announcer’s voice booming, people start getting excited, checking their betting slips. We didn’t place any actual bets on the live races – figuring out the odds and horses seemed like too much work for a casual visit, and I’d already donated my twenty bucks inside.
Watching the horses thunder down the track, though, that was something else. Pretty powerful animals. You could feel the ground shake a little when they went past. It was exciting for those couple of minutes during the race. Then it’s over, and everyone’s either cheering or groaning.
Heading Home
We stayed for a few races, finished our beers, and decided to call it a day. Didn’t win big, didn’t lose much more than my initial twenty. It was… an experience. Different, for sure. The machine part felt a bit weird, honestly, just seemed like slots with a horse theme. The live racing was the better part, more atmosphere.
Driving back, Dave was already talking about maybe trying a real casino next time. Me? I don’t know. It was alright for a one-off thing, killed an afternoon. Glad I saw it, ticked that box. Probably won’t be rushing back every weekend, but yeah, it was an interesting day out. Better than sitting at home, anyway.
