Ridin’ Dirty at the Raceway

If you’ve be reading for a while you know I love trying new things and this weekend I got to do just that. On Saturday I took my first trip to the local raceway…

When I told my sister I was going her first question was, “Are you going wear a fancy hat?!” No, no fancy hats…it’s not that kind of raceway. It’s more Bud Light and beer guts than feathers and cigars. Half of the jockeys were in the chunky division, riding behind horses with their tongues hanging out the side of their mouth. I saw a kid on a leash and Pants got a margarita in a can.

We stood along the raceway, choosing horses by their names from the rain spotted booklet. I’m not a gambler, so Pants did the betting. Despite the cheers, Riddin Dirty and Tattoos & Scars didn’t win him any money. We watched three races and Pants gave me the basics of the very complicated scoreboard.

Post-horse track shenanigans we headed downtown to a party for Pants’ soccer league. I had only been to the Old Miami once, on my 22nd birthday after bowling and many drinks, so my memory of the bar was a bit fuzzy. It’s your typical dive bar, with lots of old couches, and a stage in back for bands and djs. I knew where was a patio outside, but didn’t realize what a fantastic hang out spot it was. Just outside the door, desipte the rain was a pack stone patio with a fire pit and heaters. We’re standing there chatting, half underneath the makeshift awnings when a couple walks by and says ‘there are a couple seat around back free.’ So we venture around the corner, up onto a deck and find two chairs, shielded from the rain, surrounded by twinkle lights and opening onto a huge yard dotted with a mish-mash of lawn chairs and statues. Now in Detroit this is a very strange thing to come upon. There are lots of bars with decks or patios, but a whole yard? Definitely going to be hanging out there more this summer.

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