(giggling) You probably won't find them at the $2 window.

It's probably the most common bet, that'd be my guess. So maybe it's
like the express line in the supermarket - why should someone have to
wait behind others who have more complicated things to do, when all they
want to do is place a few $2 bets?

I say this as someone who has been to a race track exactly once. :) So
I'm not exactly a major expert here. I like to make conjectures based
on what makes sense to me, but that doesn't mean it's reality. :)

As for the time I went to the track, it was only a few years ago. I
was visiting my family in Florida, and they all wanted to go to the dog
races. It didn't thrill me, but that was because I was picturing something
from a 1940s movie, where sleazy guys are puffing cigars at an outdoor
window, and it's all dirty, dank, and cold. (This was *Florida*. Where
did I get *cold* from? :)) But they talked me into it.

When I got there, I was amazed at how middle-class and comfy it all was.
We were indoors, in air-conditioning, because in spite of my fantasy, it
was not cold at all, but rather warm outside. Everyone sat at big dinner
tables and ordered nice meals. You could watch the race through enormous
floor-to-ceiling windows that spanned the entire wall.

I had a great time. At the time, I was broke (unemployed), so my dad gave
me a $20 bill and said "Have fun." I spent it all, and I also won $20,
so basically it made no difference, other than the fun I had doing it. My
sister and her partner are major betting maniacs and they know all these
strategy points, rules, probabilities, and whatever else. I don't care
about it, I was just there to hang out with the family, eat a good meal,
and pick up on the fun energy.

I don't remember a $2 window, but I can imagine such a place having one.

Joyce