Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 3: First time watching a match

"The vanguard group began to move out of the fourth turn towards the final straight. Seventh Flower Stella continued to lead on the inside lane, but Fourth Flower Eiichi, who was slightly to the outside, caught up!"

Waving the lottery tickets in their hands, the horse lovers seemed to have entered a state of frenzy.

Although it was just a local three-year-old victory, the emotions involved were no less than those of the year-end Grand Prix such as the Arima Kinen.

Sure enough, gambling can make people lose their minds.

Amidst the shouts, the horses arrived right in front of the stands.

Completely different from what was seen in the broadcast, the scene witnessed with the naked eye was even more shocking.

Large clouds of dust were stirred up on the white sand like the first snow, and the rumbling sound of horse hooves was like the sound waves erupting after an F1 car passed the Spoony Corner.

Before I realized what was happening, a series of agile figures had already passed by.

Faced with such extreme speed, even people who know nothing about horse racing would probably have their heartbeats quicken.

"Eiichi crossed the finish line first, followed by Biluvica, eighth from one or two lengths behind, and Angel Heart, third from third."

The bulletin board flashed and the rankings were quickly determined.

"Eiichi Ichiban's popularity is recovered, and on the saddle is rider Hattori Shigeshi!"

Flocks of horse racing tickets were scattered into the sky, and soon fell slowly, mixed with the heartbreaking sounds of horse racing fans.

The winning rider patted the horse's back excitedly, took off his goggles and waved to the stands.

Most people were still immersed in their own emotions, and even the few insignificant responders were quickly drowned out by the crowd.

As he observed the details, a subtle emotion began to ferment in Kitano's heart.

This was a very novel experience for him.

Even though I was born into a family closely connected with horse racing, this was my first time watching a race in person.

A few minutes later, the riders began to lead the horses off the track, but few people in the stands moved.

This is just the first game of the day and is at best just a warm-up for them.

"What the hell was that idiot Yoshimoto thinking? He was wasting his energy on the inside lane the whole time. How could he have any energy left to charge forward at the end?"

"That Kuwamura guy is also outrageous! He actually spent half a day adjusting his riding posture after leaving the gate. Is he really not pretending to be a rider--"

Behind Kitano, two horsemen who had finally come to their senses began to review the situation and loudly list the war criminals.

He remained silent and had no intention of getting involved.

"Holding awe for things beyond your knowledge can at least help you avoid most of the misfortunes in life."

This is a sentence that Kitano's mentor often says, and he also agrees with it.

Besides, he really didn't understand horse racing.

Watch a horse race live: 1/1 (completed)

Standing up from the audience, the noise was gradually left behind.

Unfortunately, even though Kitano had confirmed again and again that he had been equipped with the title, he did not make any friends with any so-called industry insiders until he left the racecourse.

Just like most paid games, the probability given by the system is likely to be actually very low to a terrifying value.

However, it is impossible to take off the title just like that.

At least for now, he was still counting on the insignificant bonus provided by the title.

Back at the clinic, it was getting dark.

Even the earliest game of the day was held in the evening.

Somewhat glaring lights, a dusty track and drunkards in the stands – this is most people’s impression of local horse racing.

Kitano, who has personally watched races at local racecourses, can confidently answer this stereotype:

That's absolutely true. Entering the new century, the glory days of the 1980s and 90s have become an unrepeatable miracle for local horse racing.

Whether it is the quality of horses or the personnel and facilities, the central government is far behind.

However, the official website of NAR (National Association of Regional Racing) is just as outdated as the JRA official website.

It took Kitano a long time to find the relevant information of the registered horse owner.

He has no plans to register as a horse owner anytime soon.

I still don't have much idea about the sport of horse racing.

If you rashly get involved as a layman, it is possible that you will suffer a big setback.

“And choosing a racehorse is also a big problem.”

Kitano couldn't help but feel a headache when he thought about his abilities, which were rated C for [Somagan] and E- for [Inspiration].

Relying solely on his own eyesight, it would probably be difficult for him to pick out a good horse in his lifetime.

As for the improvement of [Inspiration], I still don’t have much idea.

Kitano opened the system panel.

Although both items in the mall were expensive, he still decided to give it a try and exchanged the green amulets he had saved up for a week for the relatively cheap [Detector].

[Detector: Instantly detect a random basic attribute or breeding attribute of the selected horse (3/3 times)]

【Note: This can be used up to three times on the same horse.】

It really helped a lot.

Although the price is a bit high.

He studied the system panel for a long time, and only after confirming that there was no other additional information about the [Detector] did Kitano put away the panel in front of him.

Considering the cost-effectiveness, there is no need for him to exchange the [Detector] at this stage.

The cost of just one detection might be enough to buy a horse.

But in fact, it cannot be calculated like this.

[Detector] can be said to be Kitano's only means of observation at present.

After deciding to maximize the value of the [Detector], Kitano flipped through "Youjun".

No calls for house calls came in until the end of the night business.

He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

After closing the clinic, Kitano returned to his home one street away.

Compared with the slightly cramped clinic, the residential building is much more spacious in area despite having gone through many hands.

Although many of the facilities are quite old, this is not a big problem for Kitano.

And thanks to the increasingly serious population loss in recent years, the air in Hokkaido is very fresh.

Even someone like Kitano, who only cleans when he remembers, can keep the house clean very well.

"I am back."

It’s not that anyone is really waiting for him, it’s just a habitual statement.

While pounding his waist, he changed into slippers and then groped in the dark to turn on the light.

My vision suddenly became brighter.

Listening to the sound of the hot water gradually boiling, Kitano looked at the mottled night outside the window.

After a few minutes, he couldn't help yawning repeatedly.

(End of this chapter)