poliphilo: (corinium)
poliphilo ([personal profile] poliphilo) wrote2013-09-12 10:18 am

A Break

We go home tomorrow- but only for a week- to make sure the house is still there and cut the hedge and appease Dot and maybe see some people.  It'll be a break though not exactly a holiday.

Today we're going to have lunch with the trainer who master-minded yesterday's "wonderful race" at Uttoxeter. I have- until now- avoided involvement in my mother's retirement hobby- which once paid returns- at least in terms of silverware- and is now a money pit, but living here, running the household, monitoring my mother all day long, watching her write the enormous cheques, it gets to be harder to turn a blind eye. 

[identity profile] basefinder.livejournal.com 2013-09-12 10:49 am (UTC)(link)
In NASCAR, the running joke is: Q: Want to know how to make a small fortune? A: Start with a large fortune and own a racing team!

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2013-09-12 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
It's the same with horse racing. I don't think the owners make any money. They do it for the fun of the thing- and occasionally- the glory.

[identity profile] artkouros.livejournal.com 2013-09-12 11:44 am (UTC)(link)
I hear that horse meat is not too bad.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2013-09-12 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Very like beef, I understand.

[identity profile] wyrmwwd.livejournal.com 2013-09-12 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Does she enjoy it, though?

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2013-09-12 07:37 pm (UTC)(link)
She enjoys being a racehorse owner. She didn't much enjoy watching the race yesterday.

[identity profile] wyrmwwd.livejournal.com 2013-09-12 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Losing races is kind of a part of the process. Maybe she enjoys the process as a whole, but doesn't enjoy losing. No one enjoys losing. But, maybe there is still a learning curve. I guess what I am saying is, this is her retirement "hobby", not her retirement "business". She is doing it for fun, not to make a bundle of money...

... unless that IS the whole reason she is doing it, to supplement her retirement income. Then it's a poor choice.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2013-09-13 04:47 pm (UTC)(link)
When my mother and father started racing about 20 years ago it was both hobby and business. They did quite well. They had quite a few winners and made money breeding and selling foals. These days, though, the money only seems to go one way. My father was a businessman, my mother isn't- and she's out of her depth- all the more so now her faculties are fading.

[identity profile] wyrmwwd.livejournal.com 2013-09-13 07:37 pm (UTC)(link)
:-( That is sad, and probably very frustrating for her.