Horse lovers or gamblers? Who are those crowds of people present at Champ de Mars every Saturday during the racing season? Who are those people who would not miss one racing day for anything in the world? Last Saturday, there was no special race at the Champ de Mars. There was not that huge crowd that characterises these long days in the sun crushed between race lovers and hawkers selling typical Mauritian food everywhere on the race-course… But still there was quite a crowd… The regular racegoers, the most dedicated ones were there. 12:30. Both the stalls and the field fill up with more and more spectators. Bookmakers’stalls are busy. Regular “gamblers” do not even have to spell which horse and how much they will bet on it… They speak in codes that the layman does not understand. The world of the races seems to be a world of its own…12:45: The bell rings. The Champ de Mars holds its breath… People take their places – some with their binoculars – to make sure they do not miss any part of the race. It is quiet everywhere… the starter’s signal is given… The atmosphere gradually changes. The crowd shyly starts to shout the names of their favourite horses. But it quickly becomes noisier… One can see heads jumping up and down one after the other so as not to miss any bit of the race, one can hear more and more shouting – some even swear at the jockeys to try and encourage them… Until the horses reach the finish.

Joy or disappointment – depending of course on the results of the race – can be read on the spectators’ faces. Some applaud the winner, certainly satisfied to have bet on him, while others really look ready to cry… Others still go to bet on a horse in the next race to try and regain what they have just lost…

No doubt about it… Mauritians like to go to the races because they are gamblers! They like the thrill of betting and some put… their whole fortune on one horse.

Behind in the paddock, the grooms are preparing the horses for the next race. They will walk them around for a few minutes… Time for the horses to limber up and get used to the crowd all around, time for gamblers… to see them and choose their winner.