First Time Watching a Race Live

"The leading pack is coming out of the fourth turn and heading into the final straight! Number seven, Huastra, is still holding the lead on the inside, but number four, Eichi, is closing in from a slightly wider position!"

Waving their betting tickets, the racing fans seemed to have entered some kind of frenzy.

Though it was only a local three-year-old maiden race, the emotional investment was no less intense than for a year-end grand race like the Arima Memorial.

As expected, gambling made people lose their minds.

Amid the shouting, the horses reached the front of the stands.

It was completely different from what he had seen through broadcast footage. Witnessing it with his own eyes was far more breathtaking.

Dust billowed across the white dirt track like first snow, while the thunderous hooves sounded like the roaring burst of F1 cars after they came through Sponi Bend.

Before he even realized what had happened, the agile figures had already flashed past his eyes.

Before such sheer speed, even someone who knew nothing about horse racing would probably feel their heart race.

"Eichi crosses the line first! In second, one to two lengths behind, is number eight Biluvika! Third is number three, Angel's Heart!"

The results board flickered, and the placings soon appeared.

"Eichi, the favorite, delivers! Shigeshi Hattori was in the saddle!"

Tickets were thrown into the air in waves, only to drift back down amid the heartbroken cries of racing fans.

The winning jockey excitedly patted the horse's back, then removed his goggles and waved toward the stands.

Most people were still immersed in their own emotions. Even the few insignificant responses were quickly drowned out by the crowd.

As he observed every detail, a subtle emotion began to ferment within Kitano.

For him, it was an extremely novel experience.

Despite being born into a family closely connected to horse racing, this was still his first time watching a race live.

A few minutes later, the jockeys began leading the horses away, yet not many people in the stands moved.

This was only the first race of the day. To them, it was little more than a warm-up.

"What the hell was Yoshimoto thinking? He kept burning through the horse's stamina on the inside the whole way. How was it supposed to have anything left for the final straight?"

"Kuwamura was just as ridiculous, all right? He actually spent forever adjusting his posture after the gates opened. Was he really not just pretending to be a jockey—"

Behind Kitano, two racing fans who had finally come to their senses began reviewing the race, loudly settling accounts with the culprits.

He remained silent, with no intention of joining in.

"Maintain awe toward things beyond your understanding. That way, you can at least avoid most misfortunes in life."

It was something Kitano's mentor often said, and he deeply agreed with it.

Besides, he truly did not understand horse racing.

[Watch a horse race live: 1/1 (Completed)]

As he rose from the spectator seats, the clamor gradually faded behind him.

Unfortunately, even after repeatedly confirming that he had equipped the Title, Kitano failed to befriend a single so-called industry insider before leaving the racetrack.

Like most pay-to-win games, the probability given by the system was likely so low in reality that it was terrifying.

However, taking off the Title now was out of the question.

At the very least, he was still counting on the tiny bonus it provided.

By the time he returned to the clinic, the sky had begun to darken.

Even the earliest race of the day had been held in the evening.

Under the somewhat glaring lights, there was the dust-filled track and the drunks in the stands drinking themselves senseless. That was most people's impression of local horse racing.

As someone who had personally watched races at a local track, Kitano could confidently answer such a stereotype—

It was absolutely true.

After entering the new century, the glory of the eighties and nineties had become an irreproducible miracle for local racing.

Whether in horse quality, personnel, or facilities, it had been left far behind by central racing.

Yet NAR's official website was just as outdated as JRA's.

It had taken Kitano quite a while to find information on registered owners back then.

He had no plans to rush into registering as an owner in the short term.

He still had little idea how horse racing worked as a sport.

If he rashly got involved as an outsider, it was entirely possible that he would stumble into a disastrous failure.

"And choosing a racehorse is a huge problem too..."

Thinking of his C-rated [Horse-Sense Eye] and E- rated [Inspiration], Kitano could not help but feel a headache coming on.

With his own judgment alone, he would probably have a hard time spotting a good horse in his lifetime.

As for improving [Inspiration], he still had no real clue.

Kitano opened the system panel.

Though both items in the shop were expensive, he decided to give it a try and used the Green Omamori he had accumulated over a week to exchange for the relatively cheaper [Detector].

[Detector: Instantly reveals one random basic attribute or breeding attribute of the selected horse. (3/3 uses)]

[Note: Can be used up to three times on the same horse.]

This really was a huge help.

Though the price was rather steep.

He studied the system panel over and over again for quite a while. Only after confirming that there were no further notes regarding the [Detector] did Kitano dismiss the panel before him.

Considering its cost-effectiveness, there was no need for him to deliberately exchange for [Detector] at his current stage.

The cost of a single scan might even be enough to buy a horse.

But that was not how it could be calculated in reality.

[Detector] could be said to be Kitano's only current means of evaluating horses.

Having decided to make the [Detector] as valuable as possible, Kitano picked up Yushun and began flipping through it.

No calls for house visits came in before closing time that night.

He could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

After closing the clinic, Kitano returned home, one street away.

Compared to the slightly cramped clinic, the detached house he lived in had passed through several owners but was still much more spacious.

Many of its facilities were already quite old, but that was not much of a problem for Kitano.

Besides, thanks to the increasingly severe population decline in recent years, the air in Hokkaido was exceptionally fresh.

Even someone like Kitano, who only cleaned when he happened to remember, could keep the house in good condition.

"I'm home."

It was not as though anyone was really waiting for him. It was merely a habit.

He changed into slippers while rubbing his lower back, then felt around in the darkness until he found the light switch.

His vision brightened at once.

Listening to the water gradually come to a boil, Kitano looked out at the mottled night beyond the window.

A few minutes later, he could not help yawning several times in a row.