Sunday is racing day in Santiago, and no fooling. Winter & summer, wet or dry, thousands pile out to the plebeian Hipódromo in the morning, and, pausing only for a sandwich, migrate across town to bet away the afternoon at the slightly tonier Hipico. Earlier in the present Chilean winter, when lack of rainfall slowed hydroelectric plants and forced the capital to go on daylight saving time, fans sat stoically through the 8 a.m. race in utter darkness (newspapers suggested that the ponies carry lanterns).
Last week another water famine caused a trackside crisis. Santiago’s aqueduct broke down, cutting off the water supply for 1,200,000 people, and leaving the Hipódromo without water to develop pictures of a photo finish. Track authorities saved the day. They developed the films in Coca-Cola.
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