Horse racing -- hi -- ho -- silver!

[katahdin]

Has anyone ever bought a horse at the auction? Or, been at the horse auction? I was wondering the price range. I know that it must be different each time, but a general idea of the going rate would be appreciated.

thanks

[BearySweet2Cruise]

how does the horse race work??

[katahdin]

Groups bid on a horse. The winners dress it up, name it and I think that they usually write a short story to go with it. On horse race day, they bring them to the pool area and race. Racing consists of the crew rolling dice and whatever numbers they roll are the horses to move ahead 1 space each time their number comes up. Of course people will be there betting on different horses. Another thing to spend money on -- bottom line. lol

[flips7]

The range the horses go for varies wildly from cruise to cruise. I have seen all of them go in the $600 to $1000 range and then seen them go for between $100 and $300. It just depends on the people on your cruise.

 

Flips

[bobbie0253]

I LOVE the horse racing but have not seen it on a RCCL ship in the past year and a half :(

[BearySweet2Cruise]

They had it on Mariner May of 2005. I saw people walking around with their horses.. but I did not attend.

[tazdeb]

I bought a horse on our Rhapsody cruise. It was the first one auctioned and I paid $110. By the time the last horse went they were going for $550. It all depends on how badly people want one.....TAZ

[MissKise]

and how much does the "winner" win? Do you get a pay out on the bets you place? I am interested in the details...and have never seen this.

[flips7]

the winner only gets what the horses were sold for. another words if each horse sold for $100 then the winner would get $600. They get no procedes from the betting

[tazdeb]

The winning horse on our cruise got $1975 (alas we came in third). I think the winning owner paid $450 for his horse so, not a bad take. Besides the money, you get to take the horse for the week, decorate it, take it around the ship, to shows etc.....I bought it for my daughters and they decorated it,named it etc.... Then we bet the hell out of it on race day. They have 3 races before the featured race. Our horse came in the money each time for a profit of $80. I paid $110 so I lost $30 overall but the kids got $30 of enjoyment. $30 for a week of cruise fun is a deal......TAZ

[horsefeathers75]

They don't have horse racing for some reason on the Navigator of the Seas. I asked and was told by Ken Rush, (the activities manager of Navigator last November) the current CD for the Freedom of the Seas that he would not have it on the Freedom of the Seas either because it was something they have done for so long now it is not an original. He told me he was thinking of new things to do that was new and exciting. Personally every horse race that I attended on all my 11 RCCL cruises except Navigator was well received and RCCL made money from it so I don't understand why certain cruise directors and activities managers didn't enjoy doing them.

 

I hope they bring them back on the newer ships.

[The Big Booper]

We have been on Holiday cruises where the horses went from a low of $500 up to $900. A huge pot. The holiday trips frequently have family reunions so everybody chips in and drives the bidding up.

 

Who is/will be the CD on the Radiance come Oct when we do the 15 nighter? With 8 sea days they better have LOTS of activities.

[gambler]

bummer, it always has been very popular on the ships I have been on.

[karenw]

I was on the Serenade last month. They had auto racing instead. Same thing, except the "horses" were shaped like cars. Some of the sponsors were very interesting...I remember Trojan especially.