Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 "Okay, gang, let's go grab our seats," Forest said. To get to Forest's private box, they had to climb up three flights of stairs. Throngs of people filled the grandstand. Music was playing, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The viewing box had a row of seats under a little roof. On both sides were other private boxes. Straight ahead was a perfect view of the starting gate and oval racetrack. "How long is the race?" Josh asked. "Twice around the track," Forest said.

A stack of race programs was on one seat. Forest handed them out. "Whirlaway's on page two," he said. The kids quickly checked and found Whirlaway's name. Sunny was listed as Whirlaway's jockey. "This is so exciting!" Ruth Rose said. She set her camera on the floor under her chair. A waiter wearing a white jacket came and took their lunch order. They made it simple for him: five cheeseburgers, five lemonades. "Where do the horses end up?" Josh asked. "At the finish line," Uncle Warren said, "down there behind the starting gate." The waiter brought their food. As they ate, they watched a group of horses and their riders come out onto the track. Some of the horses were bucking and prancing. The jockeys were outfitted in bright colors. Each rider wore goggles like Sunny's. The horses were white, gray black, and several shades of brown. One was a golden palomino.

Down below the owners' boxes, people were lined up along the track fence. They began cheering when they saw the horses at the starting gate. Suddenly a man's voice came over the speakers. "GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" he cried. "THE FIRST RACE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!" While he called out the names of the horses and jockeys, the riders moved their horses up to the starting gate. Then a loud bell sounded, and the horses burst onto the track. The jockeys stood in the stirrups, their heads bent low over the horses' necks.

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The crowd shouted and cheered. Even above the noise, the kids could hear the thunder of the horses' hooves on the track. Clumps of dirt flew into the air behind each horse. "AND IT'S MERRY MARY IN THE LEAD!" the announcer exclaimed. "STARBURST IS A LENGTH BEHIND! CRANBERRY SAUCE IS THIRD!" Then it was over. A white horse had rocketed across the finish line first. "AND IT'S MERRY MARY BY HALF A LENGTH!" yelled the announcer. As the kids watched, the jockey pranced Merry Mary to the winner's circle. A woman wearing a dress and a wide hat presented the jockey with a trophy. A man in a suit beamed and posed for a picture. "That's the horse's owner," Forest informed the kids. "Is our race next?" Dink asked, checking his program.

"Yes, in just a few minutes," Forest' said. He pointed to the track. "The horses are coming out already." The three kids stood up. "Which one is Whirlaway?" Ruth Rose said, getting her camera ready. "There are a lot of dark horses with white marks on their foreheads." Forest pointed over her shoulder. "In front of the white horse," he said. "See Sunny's yellow hat? And you can see the big twenty-one on Whirlaway's saddle blanket."