Since both my girls and my cousin's girls are horse fans, we decided to check out the Family Fun Day at Scarborough Downs yesterday to learn about harness racing.

I will admit that when I first walked into the building I thought we'd made a mistake with our decision to take the kids to the track. It was the wagering booth and smoker's room that had me a little concerned about what I was exposing my kids to.

But once we walked through the building and into the track's outdoor seating area, we found the kid-related activities.

All the kids enjoyed feeding and petting the horses.

It turned out that Mimi the dog was the most enamoured with the horses.

L. in particular liked the horse puzzle book she was given and jumped right into it while the races were going on.

There was also a demonstration on how the harness works and the kids were given a chance to try it out.

It turned out that the pinball machine in the clubhouse was a hit with the girls. They don't usually have opportunities to play the game so it was a treat to play it with their cousins.

We only spent about an hour at the track and although they had some interesting stuff for the kids, it was a little more *education* about gambling than I had would have preferred. But everyone had fun and the girls got to spend some time learning about horses so it was worth the trip.

See more photos of our visit to the track