Avenida del Libertador 4100 (between Avenida Dorrego and Olleros)

The ‘Hipodromo Argentino’ in Palermo

This Saturday I visited the ‘Hipodromo Argentino’ (Argentina’s Main Racecourse) for the first time, to catch the most important event in the racing calendar, the ‘Gran Premio Nacional’, which is sometimes also known as the ‘Argentine Derby’, I suppose equivalent to the Epsom Derby in the UK, or, I am guessing, the Kentucky Derby in the US (help me out US readers!).

People told me before I went to expect the Hipodromo to be full of annoying, snooty, better-than-you upper class people, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Just like race meetings in the UK, there was a mix of all types of people there, including many families, enjoying the day out in the sun.

Some Hipodromo History

This beautiful race track was inaugurated on 7th May 1876, when a horse called Resbaloso took the honors in the first race, watched by 10 thousand people. So it was earlier this year that the Hipodromo celebrated its 130th anniversary, as noted by fellow BA blog Trendy Palermo Viejo, in three different languages! These days, in addition to this sport being called ‘Turf’ here in Argentina, almost all of the horses have English names, which means it is often fun to hear the racetrack announcer try and fail with the pronunciation (I shouldn’t laugh, my Spanish pronunciation is a lot worse). I think the horses are given English names because the rich, horsey owners believe that all things English are a cut above of the rest in terms of class and breeding. Obviously they haven’t met me yet…

The main entrance and stand was built in 1908, with a capacity of 2,000, by a French architect named Faure Dujarric, in the usual lovely Art Nouveau style of that period that is seen all through Buenos Aires, especially in Recoleta and along Avenida de Mayo in the city center.

The Hipodromo has been privately owned since 1992. That probably goes some way towards explaining the over-zealous security guards there – I was asked at least 10 times throughout the day to stop taking photos, occasionally in a threatening manner, but I just carried on snapping away because everybody else was. Their reason for the no-photo policy? “It is a national historic monument”. OK…..so that means no one can take pictures of the Pink House, Cabildo or Cathedral? What a load of rubbish. Here is the front entrance to the lovely main building and stand, complete with security guard about to wave his finger at me …

Also inside that building are seemingly miles and miles of underground slot machines. There are in fact more than 2000 of these automated money grabbers – and they are more popular than the horses, in fact that part of the Hipodromo is open 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year. It’s one of those places where can’t tell what time of day it is if you lose track of time, or just lose yourself among the miles of slot machines. There is certainly a lot of money in this building, which again may explain the tight security. But back to the main event…

The ‘Gran Premio Nacional’ of Argentina

The Argentine equivalent of the Derby is called the Gran Premio Nacional, running on a chosen Saturday every mid-November. It was first run in 1884, and it is now an event of ‘National Touristic Interest’!, just like the venue itself, as the security guards kept telling me. The best horses in Argentina compete in the race, for the honor of being the best in a country that has some excellent horses.

On this occasion, there was an even better one, from Brazil. ‘Eu Tambem’ (nice to see Brazil keeping to their natural Portuguese in naming the horses), won the 2006 Gran Premio Nacional of Argentina much to the annoyance of the mostly jeering home crowd, and more importantly, to me. I had money on the (Argentine) horse in second to win, and the (also Argentine) horse in third, to come in the top two. Very annoying! Before the race I had discounted the lone Brazilian entry because I knew nothing about the quality of the races it had been winning in Brazil in comparison to those in Argentina. Obviously Brazilian horse racing is not too shabby either!

You can see over to the right, the winning jockey, owners and trainers doing what Brazilians do best – celebrating! Meanwhile, I was thinking what if, and about the nice steak dinner I would have treated my girlfriend to with the potential 100 pesos in winnings if it wasn’t for those damn pesky Brazilians. Actually, I am thinking of running a tab for how much money the nation of Brazil owes me now. We have some ‘history’ – I have only been in Brazil one time before, for under 24 hours, and in that short time a friend and I were robbed at gun point. (Apologies to the Brazilian tourist board if you are reading this!)

All the same, a great performance from the winning horse and jockey, and they had balls too – coming to Buenos Aires and taking the main prize in front of a hostile crowd is something to be proud of. At least I wasn’t the only unhappy spectator after that race!

The Granaderos

Another nice touch during the day was the national anthem before the main race, performed by the Granaderos, the Argentine horseback regiment formed by General San Martin, who is the main Argentine independence hero. I actually really like the Argentine national anthem – it is far peppier than the British one anyway. One poor Granadero had a few problems with his horse, it just wouldn’t go in the right direction. Good job he wasn’t racing it! You can just about see it being extremely uncooperative in this picture…

The Hipodromo – Getting there and getting in

The Hipodromo is not too easily reachable by public transport, but it is definitely doable. You can either get the subway Line D to the Palermo stop, and then walk about 5 blocks along Avenida Intendente Bullrich (and past ‘Jumbo’ supermarket, which is easily the best supermarket for choice in Buenos Aires) until you reach Av. Dorrego, where you will see the Hipodromo across the street and to the left. Or you can get either bus 10, 36, 160 or 166, which all drop you off in that area. But it is probably easiest to get a taxi there and back, it won’t cost very much as taxis are cheap in Buenos Aires, especially for a visitor.

Entrance to the Hipodromo costs between AR$1 and AR$10, depending on the day you go and the importance of the race. Not very much for what is a very nice, long day out – races usually start around noon and go right the way into the evening.The race meets are held every Monday, plus each week either on Friday or Saturday, and also on about one Sunday per month. You can check ahead by calling 4778-2800 (if you speak Spanish) or on www.palermo.com.ar – click ‘Informacion Hipica’ followed by ‘Calendario y Resultados’ for a list of all the race meeting dates, which continue all year round.

How to make a bet in Argentina

It is pretty easy, even if your Spanish is limited. You need to go to the stalls that say ‘apuestas’, and bet a minimum of 1 peso each time. You do so by saying the number of the horse and how much you want to wager, and if you think it will be ‘a Ganador’ (you win if it wins), ‘a Segundo’ (you win if it finishes first or second, but you get a lot less of a return) or ‘a Tercero’ (you win if it finishes in the first three places, a little less of a return again). If you have problems saying any of this, try writing it down on a piece of paper and handing it to them.

For those from the UK, the betting system is the same as the TOTE, with changing odds depending on where the money is going – you can see the odds on the huge analog scoreboard type display located in the middle of the racetrack. To get an idea of the form (past performances of the horses running) before betting, I suggest you buy either the ‘Palermo Rosa’ or ‘Ganador’ magazine, which are both sold outside the entrances to the Hipodromo. Good luck trying to decode them – it can be difficult enough to do that with racing form in English, let alone a foreign language in a country with different racing rules. Well, that was my excuse for losing, anyway…

Buenos Aires Travel Guide Special Tip

Watch out for the Brazilian horses – don’t let them ruin your day! Seriously though, just go, have fun, and don’t bet more than you can afford (though if you are from the US or Europe, Argentine pesos may seem a little bit closer to monopoly money for you). It really is a great day out, and something that you might not think of when coming to Buenos Aires, especially as it is in an area of Palermo you are not likely to just happen across.