OUR AWESOME DAY AT THE AFRICAN GEE GEES

I can say I am a race go-er but not for the obvious reasons of betting.  There is always a group of us back in Australia that make a day of going to the races at least once every two months or so.  We would start with a champagne at home, have one on the road and we would also get in the racing spirit by wearing hats-but not just any old boring race hat.  We would wear witch hats, princess hats, at Christmas time we would wear reindeer ears, police caps, jockey hats, top hats-what-ever we could get our hands on at the time, we would buy and as a group wear them to the traces and even on big meets, where all the ladies are wearing the fancy, expensive fascinators-we would be there in our captain hats and we were always a hit.  As a group we would all put in 10AUD into the group kitty and then everyone would have turns at placing bets from the kitty and then we would just buy bottles of champagne, bet and laugh the afternoon away.  They are always great days and when we saw last week that there are regular meets in Nairobi-Katie and I decided to attend one, spread the word with a few friends and see how the African races work. 

I had contacted the Kenya Jockey Club during the week to get the details of the day and they were actually quite helpful.  We knew that the first races was at 12.30pm, it was going to cost is 200KSH and there were 8 races for the day.  It all sounded great and had 3 other people joining us for the afternoon.  Driver Steven and I picked Katie up at 11.45am and then drove the 10 minutes to the Ngong Racecourse.  It was a good sign that there were people around when we arrived where-as last week when we arrived for The Mingle there wasn’t a lot of action first up.  We got dropped at the members carpark and with a wave to Steven we paid our 200KSH (2.40AUD), bought a track guide for 100KSH (1.20AUD) and we were through into the track.  The KJC (Kenya Jockey Club) recommends that when you first arrive at the racecourse that it is a good idea to buy a race card at the entrance. The race card is the day’s program and consists of information on the various races of the day. If the information on the races is not clear, rely on beginners luck!  Great advice and probably the only thing that is guaranteed-beginners luck! 

Ngong Racecourse is the main and currently only thoroughbred racing venue in Kenya and is operated by the Jockey Club of Kenya.  The racecourse was opened 1954, when it replaced the old racecourse in Kariokor, near Nairobi CBD.  Racing proper started in Kenya around 1904 at the Kariakor area under the auspices of the East African Turf Club which was later renamed The Jockey Club of Kenya in 1921. Kenya then became the first Commonwealth country to allow Sunday racing (previously this was on Friday and Saturday only). It was around the 1950s that racing was relocated to the current Ngong Racecourse and has continued to enjoy steady growth in the industry. Racing from the Ngong Racecourse is now broadcast LIVE to South Africa with daily racing from RSA, UK, Zimbabwe, Singapore and Dubai being broadcast here as well.  Ngong Racecourse is still the only racecourse in Kenyan although there were races in other towns including Eldoret, Nakuru, Nanyuki and Limuru. The first horse racing event in Kenya took place in 1904 in Machakos with Somali ponies.  There are on average 25 race meetings annually of which the most prominent is the annual Kenya Derby, which was first held in 1914 and unfortunately we missed this meet by 2 weeks which was a shame as it would have been good to see a major horse event but there are races that are held on alternate Sundays throughout the year.  Apart from horse racing, the venue has been used for cross country running competitions, and it has acted as a special stage for the Safari Rally and also used for Ostrich racing.  The Ngong Race Course and Golf Park is the only horse racing course in East Africa and is owned by the Jockey Club of Kenya with the focus of regulating the Sport of Horse racing in Kenya, while ensuring that it meets International standards. The Jockey Club of Kenya is the governing body of thoroughbred racing.

After having a quick look around to get our bearings we took a seat at the parade ring to see the first race horses of the day as they were pranced around the ring for the punters to have a look at.  The Parade ring is where the horses are taken round after they have been saddled and before the jockeys mount them. This is was the centre of attention as the small bleachers where people could sit were full of people and we also noticed a few camera crews focusing on the activity. Interviews are also conducted here and the trainers, jockeys and horse owners usually have their last discussion before the jockeys are given the go ahead by the stewards to mount the horses. Punters also take keen interest as this is where one might be able to detect the mood of each horse and maybe predict the winner of the next race (yeah right).  There were a few mzungus around, but certainly more locals and they all looked so serious and the atmosphere was one of quite reserve.  The race guide that we had bought at the gate was actually full of great information including on how to bet and the different types of betting.  You would think being a seasonal race go-er that I would know all about that, but in all my time in attending races I never placed my own bets.  Shelly was my go-to gal for all that, as she comes from a betting family, she knows about the odds, the place bets and all the other options involved-I’m telling you I wasn’t there for the gambling side of things.  Well there was no Shelly here now and I had to look at all the options and then work out how to place a normal little bet.  The first race was made easy as there were only 5 horses in the race as the only betting option we could do was for a win.  How hard out of a 5 horse race could it be to pick just one to win?

So after seeing the horses we made our way to the betting tents that were lined up next to the track.  There were a few places where you could place bets.  Next to the registry office is the tote building, otherwise referred to as Quinella. This betting area provides no less than five betting windows with well-trained tellers waiting to take your bets and assist you with any queries you may have regarding the same.  Directly opposite the Quinella is another betting area commonly referred to as 'tents'. This is easily identifiable as the area covered by a huge canopy and a slab with two open counters each holding no less than four tellers. Along with the ticket issuing machines, there are TVs that provide you with the odds and all the live action either from Ngong or any other racetrack being broadcast by Racing International.  This is where we were going to place our bets for the rest of the afternoon.  As I am not ‘that’ into the bets I was more than happy to use the machine tellers to place my bets but there were also 3 bookies in the tent area where you could place bets with them in the hope that you would get better odds with them, but I couldn’t be bothered getting all tied up in that and we went back to the same guy all afternoon.  For the non-paying public attending the races, there is another section where you will find the largest betting area. The building housing the ticket issuing machines here is referred to as the SILVERING and there is also a good number of TVs there to allow for the members of the public to follow the action past the finishing post into the parade ring.

After picking our horses and deciding that we were going to bet 200KSH (2.40AD) for each race and for the win on this one (because of the 5 horses), we were issued a receipt that hopefully we will be using to claim our win. We then went in search of a bar which we found at the back of the main grandstand and we bought our first drinks for the afternoon.  We looked at buying a bottle of white wine, but at 1800KSH (21AUD) I decided to have a Tusker beer (2.40AUD) and Katie went for a shandy (beer and lemonade) for 300KSH (3.61AUD) and we then headed to the front of the grandstands that were located trackside just up from the finishing post.  The horses were on their way exactly at 12.30pm and I think besides the airport where the flights would leave on time, well 85% of the time anyway, the race track just might be the only place in Kenya that runs exactly on time and when it says 12.30pm, they really do mean 12.30pm which was amazing-especially for Africa!!  As the horses approached the finish line it was nice to see people finally getting vocal shouting for their horses and the atmosphere was amazing as my horse crossed last and Katie’s crossed in 4^thplace.  It’s a little sad that there were only 5 horses, we picked 2 and didn’t even get a place!  Typical. 

Jo arrived in time for the viewing of the second race horses.  Katie met Jo only a few days earlier at a NES dinner, so we showed her our routine for the next race that we had set up.   View the horses, buy the tickets, get a drink and then find a seat in the grandstand with the hope of actually picking a winner this time being the only diversion.  Well with only 5 horses again, we had to pick one horse for the win and as a mirror reflection of the first race we had 3 different horses out of the 5 and no-one won a stitch…typical…..again.  So with the routine having been set, we had 45 minutes between each race we headed back to the horse parade ring, checked out our next filly’s, placed our bets, topped up our drinks and back to the grandstand for race three.  Our next guests arrive for race three, Kaitlin, Saud, Nicola and Dennis and then we were complete with a group of 7 and we were all set for the rest of the afternoon as it rolled by with race after race.  At race 6 we decided to have something to eat at the restaurant/bar where we had been purchasing our drinks all afternoon, Dennis placed our bets for us for the last 3 races and some of us finally had a win including myself, I won 100KSH (a massive 1.20AUD) and the overall winner in collection of paid winnings was Jo with a total of 1500KSH (18AUD).  As they say time flies fast when you’re having fun and before we knew it, it was dark, everyone had left the track and the restaurant was packing up their chairs as we all sat on and drank and chatted till 8pm and we got the hint that it was time to leave and we all went our perspective ways with us sharing Jo’s taxi back to Katie’s place where I was staying the night.

It really was a great afternoon and we are already planning our next race day for next month.  We also discussed a weekend away in July, so we will see if that was just the alcohol talking or if it really will come to fruition, which I am hoping it will.  So the races are at basic level exactly the same as they are back in Australia less the fancy hats, the hundred dollar dresses and champagne drunks, we were just a little tipsy on beer and shandies and I know that my body will be thanking me for that tomorrow morning.  Overall we were lucky all round.  The weather held out, I had a win (small and insignificant win-but a win), a few social drinks and I also made some new friends.  Yes it was a pretty cool day-even if it was a Sunday and a school night for some.  We had an awesome day at the African Gee Gees and I’m looking forward to our next day out.