Chapter 3: First On-Site Race Viewing
“The leading group is now heading from the fourth turn towards the final straight! Seven-Horse Fastra continues to lead on the inside, but Four-Horse Eichi is catching up slightly on the outside!”
Waving their betting slips, the Horse Owners seemed to enter a state of frenzy.
Although it was just a local three-year-old maiden race, the emotional investment was no less than that of a year-end Grand Prix like the Arima Kinen.
Indeed, gambling makes people lose their minds.
Amidst the shouts, the horses came directly in front of the stands.
Completely different from what was seen on broadcast, the sight witnessed with the naked eye was even more impactful.
Huge clouds of dust rose from the white sandy track, like first snow, and the thundering hoofbeats were like the roaring sound waves of an F1 car after passing the Spoon Curve.
Before he even realized what was happening, agile figures had already flashed past his eyes.
In the face of extreme speed, even someone who knows nothing about horse racing would involuntarily feel their heart race.
“Eichi crosses the finish line first! Second place is Eight-Horse Biru Vika, one to two lengths behind, and third place is Three-Horse Angel’s Heart.”
The scoreboard flickered and quickly displayed the rankings.
“Eichi, the top favorite, wins! The Jockey is Hattori Shigeji!”
Sheets of betting slips were scattered into the sky, then slowly drifted down, mixed with the heartbroken cries of the Horse Owners.
The winning Jockey excitedly patted the horse's back, then 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 swallowed by the crowd.
Observing these details, a subtle emotion began to ferment in Kitano's heart.
For him, this was a very novel experience.
Even though he was born into a family closely associated with horse racing, this was his first time watching a race live.
A few minutes later, the Jockey began to lead the racehorses off the track, but not many people in the stands moved.
This was only the first race of the day; for them, it was at most just a warm-up.
“What in the world was Yoshimoto thinking, that idiot? He spent the entire race on the inside, exhausting his stamina. How could he possibly have any energy left to sprint in the final straight?!”
“And that kid Kuwamura was ridiculous too, right! After leaving the gate, he took forever to adjust his riding posture. Is he really not just pretending to be a Jockey?—”
Behind Kitano, two Horse Owners who had finally come to their senses began to review the race, loudly assigning blame to the 'war criminals'.
He remained silent, with no intention of participating.
“Hold reverence for things beyond your comprehension; that way, you can at least avoid most misfortunes in life.”
This was a saying Kitano's mentor often repeated, and he deeply agreed with it.
Moreover, he truly didn't understand horse racing.
【Watch a horse race live: 1/1 (Completed)】
Standing up from the spectator seats, the din gradually faded behind him.
Regrettably, even after repeatedly confirming that he had equipped the title, Kitano did not make acquaintance with any so-called industry insiders until he left the racecourse.
Just like most pay-to-win games, the probabilities given by the system are likely to be terrifyingly low in practice.
However, taking off the title like this was also impossible.
At least for now, he was still counting on the title's meager bonus.
Returning to the clinic, the sky began to grow dim.
Even the earliest race of the day was held in the evening.
Under the somewhat harsh lights, dusty racetracks and drunken spectators in the stands—this was the impression most people had of local horse racing.
Regarding such stereotypes, Kitano, who had personally experienced watching races at a local racecourse, could confidently answer—
Indeed it was.
Entering the new century, the glory of the 80s and 90s had completely become an unrepeatable miracle for local horse racing.
Whether in terms of horse quality, personnel, or facilities, they were all far behind the Central.
However, the official website of NAR (National Association of Racing) was just as outdated as the JRA's official website.
It took Kitano quite some time to find information about registering as a Horse Owner.
He did not intend to rush into registering as a Horse Owner in the short term.
He still didn't have much of a grasp on the sport of horse racing.
If he were to rashly participate as an outsider, it was not impossible for him to suffer a major setback.
“And choosing a racehorse is also a big problem.”
Thinking of his C-rated Xiangma Eye and E-rated Inspiration, Kitano couldn't help but feel a headache.
With his own eyesight alone, he probably wouldn't be able to pick out a good horse in his lifetime.
Regarding the improvement of Inspiration, he still had no clue.
Kitano opened the system panel.
Although both items in the shop were expensive, he still tried his luck and exchanged the relatively cheaper detector with the green omamori he had accumulated over a week.
【detector: Instantly detect a random basic or breeding attribute of the selected horse (3/3 uses)】
【Note: Can be used a maximum of three times on the same horse.】
It really helped a lot.
Though the cost was somewhat high.
After repeatedly studying the system panel for a while, until he confirmed that there were no other supplementary parts to the Detector's description, Kitano put away the panel in front of him.
Considering the cost-effectiveness, the Detector did not have any particular meaning for him to exchange for at this stage.
The cost of just one detection might even be enough to buy a horse.
But in reality, it couldn't be calculated that way.
The Detector could be said to be Kitano's only means of Xiangma Eye at present.
After deciding to make the Detector as valuable as possible, Kitano flipped through 'yushun'.
No calls for house calls came until the night business ended.
He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
After closing the clinic, Kitano returned to his home, a street away.
Compared to the somewhat cramped clinic, the detached house, though having changed hands many times, was considerably more spacious as a residence.
Although many facilities were quite old, this was not a big problem for Kitano.
Moreover, thanks to the increasingly severe population loss in recent years, the air in Hokkaido was very fresh.
Even someone like Kitano, who only cleans when he remembers to, could maintain a clean home quite well.
“I’m home.”
It wasn't that someone was actually waiting for him, just a customary phrase.
Rubbing his lower back, he changed into slippers, then fumbled in the dark to turn on the light.
The view suddenly brightened.
Listening to the sound of the water gradually boiling, Kitano gazed at the mottled night outside the window.
A few minutes later, he couldn't help but yawn repeatedly.