Crap. Bird crap, to be specific. All over the stands.
Looking for something to keep my gambling-loving grandpa occupied for a few hours, we consulted the internetz, and some people recommended this horseracing track as a fun, unique activity outside of San Juan.
These reviewers had eaten in the track's restaurant and had great things to say about it. "The food is yummy." "It has big windows overlooking the track." "It's airconditioned." All very important things. However, when we called the Hipodromo that Sunday morning (and finally were connected to a real person after multiple attempts), they were unable to tell us when exactly the restaurant opened for lunch (around 12:30 probably... or maybe closer to 1:30). Also, the first race didn't start until (maybe probably) around 3 PM, so we would have had to wait for a while with a great view of an empty track. We checked out the menu online, and the food seemed pricey for what it was, so we decided to eat lunch in Carolina on the way over and just come to check out some races.
I'll admit the restaurant does look pretty nice, and the people inside looked happy. For good reason. They get to hang out in a glass fishtank with great views and airconditioning while the rest of us are stuck in the stands which offer backless benches literally covered in trash and pigeon poo. Ew. Now I understand why the food in there is pricey; the space alone makes it worth it. Us lower-class horse-watchers were left in the hot outdoor stands, mostly viewing an empty track and waiting since all the start times of the races were late.
I'll admit it was kind of fun to bet on the horses. The minimum bet was $2, so I went all out on a win for a horse because I liked his name (Guagua Escolar.. which translates to Schoolbus). Surprisingly, this Scholarly Bus indeed won, so I walked away with a whopping $4.60 (well technically $2.60 since it cost me $2 to play).
The Hipodromo Camarero was definitely a different experience. We probably would have enjoyed our time more had we been inside the restaurant, but the outdoors section made us feel pretty dirty and isn't somewhere you'd want to be for an extended period of time. Gambler grandad didn't even put money down, which is saying something. I was outta there after 2 laps around the track, with an extra $2.60 jingling in my pocket and an immediate desire to go do my laundry. read more