Laurel Park (Horse RacingTrack), Laurel MD

It may not be as well known as the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, but also exciting and much more local is watching the horse races at the Laurel Park! I certainly advise calliing ahead and/or checking the calendar on their website, but races typically take place Thursday-Sunday, with Race times starting at around 1pm. When speaking with them on the phone, they told me that the races had roughly 30 minute breaks in between each one. What I didn't know was that typically, the races were one lap and that the whole race lasted about 2 minutes. However, for races that are larger events, they may have more laps and last for longer, but the crowds will also be larger. 

While this doesn't seem like a lot of time, knowing this now, I think we would have brought some activities (card or board games with us) to fill the time in between. However, in the hour and fifteen minutes that we were there, we were able to see 3 races. It was also helpful to see the big screen in the middle of the track, which let us know how much time until the next race. 

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS IS AN ESTABLISHMENT FOR GAMBLING! While we did not bet (and this is a free activity), it is important to note that most of the people that are there were there for betting. However, we found that because most people were there for gambling, they seemed to be more heavily staying inside and watching multiple races on the television screens. We however, went out to the actual track and stood right up against the fence next to the finish line and winners circle! What a great view that was for the races that were won by a nose (literally)! 

In between races, we ate on the picnic benches, and talked to a few of the other people who were outside to get a better understanding of how people pick horses to win, what the odds meant (this was a fun math lesson for my son), and all of the different things that go into the training of the horses. Most people were pretty happy to share their knowledge. 

Additionally, since we went to the races on a Thursday afternoon, and the track area was mostly empty, we were able to call out to the jockey who won one of the races, and he stopped to take a picture with the boys. They also gave their jockey goggles to our kids as a souvenir! When the weather got too hot to stay outside, we went inside and upstairs to an area where you could watch the races in air conditioning through large glass windows! Very few people were in there, so we were able to sit in nice leather chairs, right over the race track. This was a cool view to take in for our third race, and a great place to maybe play a game while waiting in between. 

While this is obviously not an event geared towards children, my kids certainly had a fun time, and said that they would like to come back another time.

Website: http://www.laurelpark.com/

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