Jumping Railbirds

Treated to a strange sight last week were antipodean U. S. tourists who happened to be in the cozy little seaport of Napier, New Zealand and followed the crowds to its racetrack for the annual Napier Steeplechase, one of the island's most outstanding horse races. A few jumps from the finish line, only one horse had a rider. All the others had lost their jockeys somewhere along the stiff, three-mile course. Like a crazy dream, first one spectator, then another, scampered onto the course, mounted riderless horses, took them over the remaining jumps and finished on the heels of the horse & rider that had stuck together. When the results were posted, the horses with railbirds up took second and third money. No New Zealander raised an eyebrow. For it is a common occurrence Down Under--just as it was a common occurrence in the U. S. up to the turn of the Century. Only stipulation: the railbird must not weigh less than the original jockey.

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