The State | 08/26/2007 | Horse racing: from mexico to the the midlands

Here is an article about the arrival of Mexican style horse racing to South Carolina.


The State | 08/26/2007 | Horse racing: from mexico to the the midlands

In Mexico, this is what you do to have fun on weekends,” Chavero said.

And now, in South Carolina, immigrants are racing horses on the weekends. Hispanic immigrants have brought their soccer, Latin music and tacos to South Carolina, and horse racing is the latest cultural tradition to show up in the Palmetto State.

Two tracks have opened in the past year in Swansea in Lexington County and Saluda, about an hour west of Columbia. Another track hosts races in Aiken County.

At least once month, one of the tracks hosts a meet in which 200 to 300 people, mostly Hispanic, pay $10 to $20 to watch five or six races.

The horses race two at a time down a straight stretch like cars at a drag race. The crowd watches from the beds of pickup trucks or while leaning on the fence rail.

The events feature live Latin music, traditional Mexican food such as melon sprinkled with hot pepper, and plenty of gambling. It’s slightly chaotic as owners and horses travel an informal circuit, often setting the next race date at one track while standing in the middle of another track on its race day.

While the horse tracks provide entertainment for the Midlands’ growing Hispanic population, neighbors who live near the tracks are not so amused.

Police in Lexington and Saluda counties have received complaints, and both track owners have been ticketed for violating state and local laws.