chuckography

Skipping the 30th Bridge Run

Life is all about decisions.

There are 13 colorful runners numbers hanging on my wall. I have done the Cooper River Bridge Run (actually the Walk) once over the old 2-lane Grace bridge and many times over the 3-lane Perlman.

I have my badge from the walk over the LAST time on the old one and the FIRST walk on the new Ravenel. So now, it's time to do something else on that day.

And that of course means thoroughbred horse racing in Camden, SC for the 75th Carolina Cup.

There was a day in 2004 when the two events did NOT happen on the same weekend so I accepted an invitation from my cousin to drive to her city for the excitement of pounding hooves....flat racing AND steeplechase.

The "races" have quite a history and are filled with tradition. A silly comment I heard often was "I was there all day and never saw a horse." Those young drinkers missed a fun part of the day.

If you are extremely fortunate, you meet for ham biscuits and Bloody Marys then caravan to the family parking spot in the infield.

These are highly coveted prize locations and are handed down from generation to generation and appear as items of contention in nasty divorces.



You park, erect a tent and tables and open up a huge fancy meal, served on the good china and silver with bouquets of flowers for the centerpiece. Ah, The Sport of Kings!

It seems a shame that the Bridge Run and the "Cup" usually happen at the same time.

A coordinated date could mean an additional 50,000 to 70,000 people at each event.

That's a lot of shrimp.

Labels: Camden, Carolina Cup, Cooper River Bridge Run, shrimp, thoroughbreds

posted by chucker @ 11:41 AM