The Paga Diaries (22) by Arizona Wanderer 'Tarn Races

 

 (The first twenty chapters are hosted at Emma of Gor This continues the story of Rykart, a wanderer on Gor who had arrived from Earth. Stories by Tracker is pleased to host this continuation of the story.)

22.  Tarn Races
Today was race day! I had gotten to the tarncot early in the morning to help Trem and Jesop with last minute details.  The racing teams were readying their tarns with saddles.  Each team had several tarns that they would be able to use in the ten races scheduled for the day.  Jesop and I were clearing equipment away from the route to the launch ramps and the busy traffic that would soon come.
Trem came and took Jesop to the side and handed him something that looked like a black leather folding wallet.  I couldn’t hear what Trem was saying to Jesop, but the boy nodded as if he understood some instructions.  Then Jesop left, heading to the area of the Stars racing team. 

Trem told me that the race would begin in about an ahn, and that I should go down to the stadium to watch.  He said the roof of the Feasting Tarn was a good place to watch, with good services from the tavern during the race and not overly crowded.  If I showed my tarncot pass I would get free admittance.  Or I could join the crowded masses and watch the race from stadium seating, which was free, except for reserved sections with paid admission.
“Are you a gambler Rykart? Do enjoy wagering on races?” he asked.
“Yes, I like wagering,” I said learning another new word.  I was an experienced gambler and was very familiar with odds and different types of bets.  On Earth, I had enjoyed for a while, betting on sports while watching games.
“I want to ask a favor from you,” he said.
“Of course,” I said.
“Will you loan me two silver tarsks and place them as a bet for me?  If my bet loses, I will pay you the two silvers.  If I win, take the two silvers I borrow today and the two silvers I owe you from before.”
“Yes, I do it,” I said.
“I want my bet to be on Storm, the blue team, on the third race. If you want to make your own bet, you should make the same bet too. If my bet wins on the third race, put my entire winnings up as a bet on Stars, the silver team, to win race five. The Red Spike team is strong and they will be favored in every race and also to win the overall standing at the end of the races. But odds on them will be poor because they are so heavily favored. If you want to wager on the overall winner of the races, pick Green Streak, betting as early as possible for best odds. For individual races, wait to make your bets right before the race begins.”
“Yes, okay,” I said, amazed at his confidence and wondering where it came from.  And then I asked, “Are you going to Mirus’s for party after races.”
“Yes, but I will be having a drink at the Tarn first. Find me there and we will go to Mirus’s house together.”
“Yes, I will,” I said.
“Good luck and have fun at the races.”
As I was leaving, I saw Jesop walking into the Storm race team area.
 
The streets around the stadium were filled with festive crowds all heading for the entrances.  I entered the Feasting Tarn and climbed the grand central staircase to the roof top.  I presented my bronze tarncot pass and was admitted without having to pay.  There were a lot of spectators on the roof, almost all of them near the railing on the parapet edge.  There were twice as many paga slaves as normal, rushing about serving drinks and food. 
In one corner was a shaded booth, with a line of people waiting to get to the counter.  At the booth was what Trem called a Track Merchant, who took bets on the races.  There was an armed guardsmen wearing red, standing next to it.  I got in line and did not have to wait long until it was my turn to place a bet.  Trem had not given any advice about the first race, so I just picked a team.  I didn’t have a favorite, but I knew Sabit, the racer who rode for Green Streak.  I handed the merchant five copper tarsks and said, “Green Streak”.  He handed me five flat round clay tokens, that had a green glaze on them for the Green Streak team.  The Gorean “1” was imprinted into the center of the token, denoting the first race.  The merchant told me that a winning token must be exchanged within an ahn of the ending of the race. 
I heard a loud ring, sounded two times.  I took my tokens and went to find an empty spot with a nice view, along the rail.  There were not many spaces left as people were still coming onto the roof.  I looked below and the stadium stands were filing up, people finding seats.  The stadium was a large oval shape with a large open space in the middle, perhaps one hundred yards wide.  The length of the stadium was about a half pasang, or roughly a half kilometer, making one lap around the perimeter a full pasang.  Spaced along the perimeter of the inside of the oval were twelve towering columns, each supporting a large vertical ring suspended by chains.  The rings were about thirty feet above the ground below, which looked like sand.  The rings were brown and looked to be padded with leather.  Large netting was stretched out below the rings, attached to the columns too, about six feet above the sand.  On one side of the stadium, on the tower column in the middle, there was a horizontal beam protruding from the column.  This beam had what looked to be dark brown wooden heads in the shape of a tarn’s head.  There were ten heads on this beam, mounted side by side.
Near one of the curved areas of the stadium, at ground level, there were massive arches of dark openings in the wall under the stands.  From these openings I watched large carts or wagons emerge and enter onto the sandy field, each being pulled by a tharlarion.  The wagons had a wide wooden bed with no sides and a stout wooden pole mounted horizontally near the front of the bed.  In the bed of each wagon stood a racing tarn.  Beside each tarn sat the rider.  The riders wore silk in the flashy colors of their teams. 
The crowd started to cheer as soon as the tarn carts entered the stadium.  Many fans on the roof began yelling out their faction team names.  Ten of these carts lined up, side by side next to the middle column with the pole of wooden tarn heads. A rope was strung up in front of the line of carts.  Once lined up, the tarn riders removed the hood that covered the tarn’s head during its ride to the starting point.  Several tarns gave a shrill cry after their hood came off.  The tarn riders then mounted their saddles on top of the tarns back and secured themselves with both safety straps. 
A bar rang out loudly three times, the judges bar that signaled the beginning of the race.  All ten of the tarns gave a small jump or hop, landing on the horizontal pole, or perch in the bed of the wagon.  Five of the ten tarn heads on the beam were rotated by an attendant so that they faced down, with five still facing up.  The rope in front of the racers fell and the tarns took flight all at once, with explosive force, bursting into the air and streaking towards the closest ring suspended from the next column on the track perimeter.
The crowd noise rose to a roar as they watched the race began.  A brown tarn with a rider wearing orange and black stripes took the lead and swept through the first ring.  Many in the crowd yelled “Talons!” the name of the orange and black faction.  Storm, wearing blue, was next followed by the Red Spike tarn and then the rest.  They passed through the second ring and by the third ring, Storm was flying astride Talons and they passed through the large ring together.  The ring was wide enough that probably three tarns could pass through simultaneously with folded wings, two side by side and another above or below.
By the sixth ring, or half a lap, Talons had been passed by Storm, in blue, and Sunstrikes, who wore gold. Storm was in the lead at the end of the first lap, and the beam attendant rotated a tarn head, leaving four heads or laps, still up and remaining in the race.
On the third lap, the rider for Storm was still in front and making his lead bigger.  Behind him the two tarns of Sunstrikes, and Red Spike, were very close to each other rapidly approaching a ring and I thought I saw sparks emitted from Red Spike.  Had Red Spike used a tarn goad?  Sunstrikes veered away from Red Spike and missed the ring.  A ring rang out from the judge’s bar, and a red flag was rapidly hauled up the judges pole.  The crowd cheered loudly.  The rider for Red Spike, wheeled around and went through the ring he had missed.  He had gone from third to ninth place by the time he wheeled around.  The red flag was lowered and removed from the pole. 
It was very exciting to watch, easy to follow, and very fast paced.  When the final lap ended and the last ring was passed, the tarns landed on the perches in the carts.  Storm landed first, followed by Stars, the rider wearing silver stars on a black silk background, then Sunstrikes landed third and Green Streak landed fourth.  The riders dismounted their tarns and the rider for Storm gave a salute to a roaring crowd. 
The wagons then rolled away quickly from the starting line and exited the stadium through the arched openings.  Several ehn later, ten more wagons entered with different tarns, but with riders wearing the same faction colors, all headed to the starting point for the next race.  It appeared that fresh birds were to be used for the race.
My vantage point from the roof top was good but I wanted to view the next race from the stadium.  I wanted to feel the excitement of being in the crowd, and closer to the action.  I went to the Track Merchant and handed him my green tokens.  Green Streak had finished fourth in this race.  The merchant handed me ten copper tarsks.  Five of them were mine that I had wagered, and the other five were my winnings.  For race one, it appeared that Green Streak paid one to one on a fourth place finish.  I had won something on my first race and I was thrilled, ready to watch more.  I placed another five tarsk bet on Green Streak for the second race and hurried to get down from the roof of the Feasting Tarn and into the stadium stands.  I heard the judges bar ring twice, signaling the next race would begin in ten ehn.
Passing through the throngs of people in the stands, I noticed that most people showed some sort of display of their favorite teams.  Free Women had a patch of colored cloth sewn onto the left shoulders of their robes.  The wealthier ones had fine embroidered silk patches, while poorer ones had dyed rep cloth ones.  Many slave girls wore solid colored tunics and camisks, supporting the favorite teams of their masters.  I saw slave girls with colored ribbons entwined in their hair or ribbons wrapped around their collars.  Men too, wore colored patches on their shoulders or hats colored to match their teams.
The three bar ring rang out, signaling the start of the second race.  I had not found a seat yet, I was trying to get to the center of the stands, and down towards the first rows from the track perimeter.  These parts of the stands were nearly full and I was charged a full copper tarsk for admission.  I paid and took the closest empty seat and watched the race as it began. 
This race had all ten wooden tarn heads upright on the beam, indicating that it would go ten laps.  I watched in awe as the giant birds and riders flew overhead and streaked past.  I could hear some of the riders yell “Har-ta!” meaning faster, as they went by.  The sparks that I had seen from the roof, watching the first race, were from tarn goads.  The riders were using them to hasten their tarns to go even faster.  I watched mesmerized at the high speed spectacle of jostling tarns and riders, negotiating the passage of rings and maneuvering through turns.  The race ended when a grey tarn with a yellow silked rider landed on the first place perch, closest to the stands.  Talons came in second, Sunstrikes third and Red Spike fourth.  There was not as much cheering for this finish as there had been for the first race.
I heard a young slave girl, wearing a blue tunic, ask her master, “What is the name of the yellow team Master?”  And his reply was, “Yellow is a non-faction team, independently owned.  Non-faction teams are smaller, have less tarns and riders, and sometimes do not enter every race of the day.”
The second race over, I noticed people walking down the stadium stairs to the bottom, where there were booths set up in the sand of the track.  These booths were for the Track Merchants, taking bets and paying out winners for the races.  The third race was the one Trem wanted me to bet for him, so I went to the booth.  I placed a bet of two silver tarsks on Storm for him and two more for myself.  The merchant handed me four Storm-blue glazed clay disc tokens with the number “3” imprinted in the center.  These flat discs were larger than the other ones I had gotten, since they represented silver bets instead of copper.  I heard the two bar signal again, signaling the third race would begin soon. I took my tokens and ran back up to find a good seat in the center of the stands, close to the track. 
Above this area of the track, about a dozen rows up was an area cordoned off with purple rope.  The rows of stands in this area had cushions, quite luxurious looking, instead of the plain stone benches of the rest of the stadium.  There were also areas above the first set of stadium rows that were large open areas, ringing the top of the lower section of stands; they reminded me of the box suites in large American stadiums.  The men and women in the purple cordoned area seemed very well dressed. The finely veiled women wore robes of concealment made from very high quality materials.  I assumed these people were of some importance, government officials perhaps, receiving the best seats in the stadium.  I sat below and a little to the side of this area, six rows from the track wall.
I watched the next set of wagons come out onto the track and position themselves side by side for the race starting position. The riders removed the hoods from the tarns.  I was much closer to them this time and I could see the crest feathers on the top of the tarn’s heads rise up proudly after the hoods were removed.  One tarn, after being de-hooded, gave a loud piercing shriek, the noise making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.  I heard several women around me, both free and slave, give out frightened gasps after hearing the terrifyingly primal, shrill scream of a tarn. 
The riders mounted their tarns and strapped in while the starting rope was stretched out in front, creating a starting line.  The judges bar rang out three times, announcing the eminent start of the race. The teams had their tarns hop up onto their starting perches.  They waited for a few ihn, before the rope dropped, starting the race. 
Once again, the ten tarns burst instantly into the air with the explosive thrusting of magnificent wings, the sound heard throughout the stadium.  Three tarns vied for first position as they approached the first ring.  All three went through the ring at the same time, their wings folded in tight, but the Talons tarn hit its right wing hard on the ring, causing the bird to spin through the ring, veering in over the spectators in the stands.  The rider, wearing orange and black stripes, fell from his saddle and was kept from falling into the crowd by his two safety straps.  Many women screamed.  The tarn, flying off balance, with the weight of the rider off to the side, attempted to fly back to the track and resume course.  The rider pulled himself quickly back into the saddle with the safety straps and got his tarn back into the race.
By the fourth ring, Red Spike was out in front, passing through with plenty of space.  Green Streak and Storm were close behind.  They stayed in this order through the rest of the rings of the first lap and a wooden tarn head was rotated, indicating the start of the second lap. Each lap of the track had two large turns, one at each end of the oval.  I noticed that tarns moving to pass other tarns were often attempted during the entry phase of the turns. 
On the third lap there was a passing attempt where the Sunstrike rider was moving to pass the Stars tarn and the rider reached out with his tarn goad, contacting the other tarn.  Sparks flew and the Stars tarn shrieked and moved away from the goad, allowing Sunstrike to pass.  This was an interesting strategy, adding another dimension to the tactics of the race.
As the eighth lap began, Green Streak was in first, with Red Spike and Storm close behind.  The yelling from the crowd was very loud, with numerous shouts of “Green! Green!”, “Red! Red!” and “Go Storm go!” coming continuously from thousands of voices, all at the same time. 
Approaching ring three, in the middle of the pack, the Sunstrikes and Talons riders were flying very close to each other and both riders were brandishing their tarn goads, waving them at each other, trying to make contact.  The Talons rider struck the Sunstrikes rider first and then also hit the Sunstrikes tarn, sparks showering down from both contacts and the golden silked rider slumped back in his saddle, letting go of the control straps as the tarn veered sharply away from the Talons rider and goad.  The swerving, stunned, Sunstrikes tarn hit the ring hard, and not passing through it, fell into the net below the ring, the rider pinned under one of its massive wings.  A single ring came from the bar and a gold flag shot up the judge’s pole, indicating that Sunstrikes had failed to pass through a ring. 
The tarn in the net thrashed around trying to regain composure, but the net did not offer any stability for its legs and the motionless driver kept the tarn off balance.  A track crew of three quickly ascended a ladder on the column and got into the net, two of the crew quickly tying a strap around the sharp curved beak of the flailing tarn while the third crewman used a knife to cut the safety straps from the saddle, detaching the rider who was starting to show movement.  At the same time, a special recovery cart pulled by a team of male slaves was quickly wheeled under the net.  This cart had stretched canvas that formed a large bowl over the bed of the cart.  Two men of the track crew then pulled a rope, which caused the net to split open, creating a void, which the tarn fell through onto the stretched canvas of the recovery cart.  The two men then slid down a rope and rushed onto the cart, and with large straps and tarn goads, secured the frazzled tarn, keeping it from leaving the cart.  The third crewman had secured the rider to the side of the net and now released him, helping him to slide down the rope to the ground. 
Most of the crowd did not watch the recovery of the tarn and rider from the net, but instead remained focused on the race that was nearing completion.  I noticed that several men sitting in rows below me, had thrown their golden glazed wager tokens to the ground in disgust, having apparently bet on Sunstrikes.
When I did look up from the recovery, back up to the race, I noticed to my delight that the blue silked rider of Storm was in second place and on the tailfeathers of Green Streak.  I noticed that nine of the ten wooden tarn heads had been rotated down.  The racers were about to enter the final lap.  As Green Streak was about to enter the ring in the turn, Storm seemed to have climbed too high to be able to negotiate this entry.  Storm was above Green Streak but the wings of its tarn folded slightly and Storm swooped into a quick dive passing over Green Streak as they both entered the ring.  The talons of the Storm tarn extended out and below, attempting to grasp the Green Streak rider. 
Green Streak’s rider saw this at the last micro-ihn and dove his bird down to avoid the talons.  The crowd murmured in awe, as we all thought that Green Streak was going to hit the sand.  He urged his tarn on with a slight touch of the goad and fell into second place.  Red Spike was right behind and quickly took advantage of this dip, using his goad to spur on his tarn.  Red and Green were even, going into the next ring and when they came through, Red Spike was gaining space and positioned into second. 
The last lap did not see much maneuvering but there was the occasional flash of sparks as tarn goads were used to motivate more speed from the streaking tarns.  Storm finished first, landing on the first place perch, closest to the spectators.  Red Spike landed on the second place perch, followed closely by Green Streak.
From within the purple cordoned area, I heard three or four men and at least one woman, shout out happily, thrilled with the results of the race.  I wondered how Trem could have possibly known the outcome of the third race.  I watched three men leave the special reserved area and walk down the stairs to the Track Merchant booth.  I got up and walked down the steps behind them.  
I saw the Merchant pay the three men separately, one of them receiving a sizable stack of gold coins.  I handed the Merchant the four Storm-blue glazed wager tokens.  He handed me back the four silver tarsks that I had bet, and asked if I wanted gold or silver for the thirty-two more he owed me!   I took silver.  I quickly did the math and the odds had been eight to one for this race.  I was thrilled and I’m sure Trem was going to be very happy.  I placed a silver tarsk bet on Red Spike for the fourth race, remembering that Trem had said they were a good team.  The Merchant looked at me funny and said, “You just won on Storm and now you want Red Spike?  Do you have two favorites?”
“First time at race, no favorite,” I said.
“Barbarian” he said.
“Yes,” I answered, not knowing if he had asked a question or just made a comment.   He handed me a red glazed clay token for the fourth race.
I went back to the seat I had in the lower rows of the stands, but it was taken.  I found another close by.  I watched the action of the vendors and the crowd before the next race began.  Hawkers, yelling out, roamed the rows of the stands, selling sweetmeats, candies, pastries, skewered meat, paga and other wares.
One of them was selling a flavored drink that someone near me bought.  I didn’t understand what it was called, but I bought one too.  I was handed the drink and immediately noticed that there was ice in it.  Ice!  I had not seen ice on Gor and was very surprised.  As an ice-addicted spoiled American, I had been missing ice since I got here.  Ice for me was one of the many things that you didn’t think about missing, until you miss it.  Cold beer, pizza, french fries, ice cream, music, refrigeration, and microwave ovens were just a few of the many little things I have missed since coming to Gor.  I was ecstatic to see ice in my sweet flavored drink!  Now I needed to find a Coke, mix it with some paga and ice for an afternoon cocktail!
I heard the bar ring three times.  When the race started, the vendors stopped yelling and selling.  They stood and watched the race, enthralled like the rest of us in the stands.  Watching fierce giant birds with fearless riders flying around a track and going through rings was a fascinating sight I would never tire of.  When the last lap ended and Red Spike landed on the fifth perch, many people in the crowd groaned in disappointment.  But there were plenty of people cheering for Green Streak, whose tarn landed on the first perch.  The hawking of wares started up again immediately after the race. 
I left my seat to go place bets.  I went to a different Track Merchant this time, a little nervous about all the betting I was doing, and all the winning.  I placed a sixteen silver tarsk bet for Trem on Stars, his winnings from race three.  I placed a twenty-four silver tarsk bet on Stars for myself, making the total bet an even forty silvers.  I was handed four Stars-silver glazed tokens with the number “5” in the middle.  These clay discs were larger than the ones I had gotten last time, each one representing a gold tarsk wager for Stars on the fifth race.
I found another seat, this time in several rows above the purple dignitary section of the stands.  I sat and enjoyed the show about me, watching people come and go, seeing the interactions of the vendors with customers.  I heard a collared slave girl in a red tunic beg her master for a pastry as a vendor was calling out.  She seemed very happy when he bought her one. 
I noticed in many places around the stadium, a large board with words and numbers beside them.  These numbers changed from race to race.  I asked a man next to me what the board was, and he told me it was the odds for each team in every race.  He said that Red Spike had been favored early on in the day, but now the odds were shifting away from them.
The sound of three bars called out the start of the fifth race.  I was excited and nervous about the large wager I had placed on this race.  The tarns burst into the air when the starting rope dropped and the Stars rider settled into third place by the third metal ring. 
Lap after lap, I watched the riders trying to jockey into better positions, most passing attempts failing, but occasionally a maneuver would pay off, earning an advancement amongst the racers.  On the sixth lap there were three riders bunched up fighting for third place.  Each of them were brandishing their tarn goads, attempting to strike anyone that came close. The bunch was rapidly approaching a curve and the ring before it.
In the middle of the bunch was Storm who veered into Talons, just missing Talon’s goad strike.  Talon’s rider got struck by Storm’s goad and slumped back into his seat. His tarn started climbing, up and away from the track, probably caused by the rider’s unconscious pulling of the one strap, directing the bird to ascend. The tarn climbed very high over the stadium before levelling off; it did not return to the race.  A single bar ring was sounded and an orange and black striped flag shot up the judge’s pole, signaling that Talons had not passed through a ring.
Almost immediately after striking Talons, the Storm rider made his tarn perform a very rapid roll, veering him towards the other rider in the bunch, Sunstrikes. The Storm rider quickly thrust his tarn goad repeatedly at Sunstrikes and on the third thrust, made contact with the tarn.  With the bright flash of sparks, the Sunstrike tarn recoiled away from the goad, just as the two riders were entering the ring before the turn.  The tarns shoulder hit the ring causing the giant bird to crumple, with its head going down.  The rider, being flipped forward, then hit the ring hard.  Both rider and tarn somehow went through the ring and then fell into the net below.  The large suspended ring swung in the air from the impact and a shower of feathers fell about them, most going through the net, landing on the sand below.  The crowd was going wild, awestruck by the skill of Storm and the rider’s ability to take out two rival riders, in what seemed a simultaneous maneuver.
I watched the tarn and rider in the net, while most of the other spectators continued to watch the race.  The track crew of three climbed up the column ladder and got into the net quickly.  The tarn was twitching and the rider was motionless, still attached by two safety lanyards to the saddle.  His lanyards were detached from the saddle and he was rolled over to the side of the net, where a crewman reattached them to the net cable.  When the special recovery cart was positioned under the net, the release rope was pulled, splitting open the net so that the tarn fell into the cart with the stretched canvas bowl.  Two of the crewmen slid down a rope onto the cart and secured the tarn with straps, before it could fully recover it’s senses. 
The third crewman had placed the rider, still unconscious, into a body harness, which he used to lower the rider with a rope.  The rider was placed on the recovery cart and the male slaves pulled them off the track, running into the dark archway openings under the stands.  I looked up to see where the Talons tarn and rider had gone, but couldn’t find them in the skies above the stadium.
I looked over and watched an attendant spin over another wooden tarn head, leaving two still upright on the beam, indicating two laps remaining in the race.  The Stars tarn was in first but Red Spike was very close, aggressively trying to shorten the lead in the turns.  Coming out of a turn, Red Spike did a quick dive, coming just underneath Stars. The Stars tarn extended it’s talons down, attempting to grasp the Red rider below.  A hush came over the crowd as thousands took in their breath and held it, waiting to see what would happen.  The Red rider dove further down to avoid the talons, and raised his tarn goad high above him, attempting to hit the talons near him.  This further dive made him lose distance and he fell back into second place.  Many in the crowd started to chant, “Red, Red, Red…”
In the next turn, coming out of it, Red Spike again quickly dove under and passed Stars underneath.  But the Red rider came up too soon trying to take the lead, and this time, the Stars tarn extended its talons down and one of them clasped onto the Red rider, who dropped his goad.  The rider was pulled from his seat in the saddle but the two safety straps kept him from being pulled away from his tarn.
The talon grasp pulled the rider, and also pulled his tarn because of the saddle connection, and this threw the Red Spike tarn off balance.  Both birds now began to descend, the tarn below flapping frantically to regain balance.  Near the ground, the Stars tarn released the Red rider from it’s talon grip.  The Red Spike rider and tarn hit the ground hard and began to roll together in the sand.  They came to a stop after three rolls, with loose feathers and furrowed sand marking their path. 
Everyone in the stands had come to their feet, issuing a roar of applause from the action.  People wearing red, were standing silent, hundreds of them began to throw their red clay tokens onto the sandy track or on the ground at their feet.  The Red Spike tarn stood up, took a couple steps and shrieked, it’s rider dangling motionless from the side, one strap still attached to the saddle, the second strap broken.  I wondered if the man was dead, he remained motionless. 
This time, I did not watch the recovery, but instead focused on the last lap of the race.  After the talon grappling, the Stars tarn had a good lead, followed by Green Streak and Storm.  During the last turn, Storm snuck past Green Streak and yelling “Har-ta”, spurred his bird on to land at the second place perch.  Stars had won first place, and again I was amazed that Trem had predicted this outcome.
In the luxurious purple area of the stands I heard men and women happily yelling “Stars!”  I noticed the same three men from this section, and two more, stand up and walk down the stairs to the Track Merchant.  I thought it was interesting that they had also apparently won on Stars, and Storm before.  I went to a different Track Merchant, one that was above the first ring of stadium seats. 
When I turned in my four Stars-silver glazed wager tokens I was given the four gold tarsks from my bet and received twenty-four more!  The odds had been six to one for Stars on this race.  I had won a lot of gold today on just two races with first place finishes.  I imagined Trem was going to be very happy with his winnings, totaling eleven gold and two silver tarsks.  I was sure this would relieve him of any outstanding debts he might have.
I watched the next three races without betting and then went back up to the roof top of the Feasting Tarn, to watch the last two.  It was crowded, with no viewing spots along the parapet rail.  I hadn’t noticed before, an odds board had been set up near the Track Merchant booth.  Being illiterate, I couldn’t read the names on the board, but I had learned Gorean numbers, and the symbols for them.  I watched the board being updated, the numbers for odds changing.
The tenth and final race of the day ended, Green Streak finishing first.  But Green Streak did not finish first in points overall for the day, Storm took those honors.  So Trem’s prediction of Green Streak winning overall for the day, did not hold true.