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Article: These races won't make anyone forget Secretariat
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- March 9, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2001 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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There are many victims of Britain's foot-and-mouth disease
epidemic, but not all are obvious. Like gamblers.
The outbreak led to horse racing being banned for two weeks. No
races, no bets.
Luckily, the folks at Blue Square Ltd., Britain's largest
interactive betting parlor, came up with an alternative: hot-rodding
hamsters.
Think of it as NASCAR meets Kentucky Derby.
The Netcaster has been holding daily races of a half dozen
diminutive rodents for live viewing via computer.
The hamsters shoot down a 30-foot track in small plastic dragsters
propelled via fast legwork in a hamster wheel at their center. "We
saw the possibilities after seeing the dragsters in a pet-shop
window," says Ed ...