愛爾蘭沙灘賽馬

For just a few hours every year， a stretch of sand on the Irish coast transforms for perhaps the most unique event on the horse racing calendar.

Laytown Races—26 miles from the countrys capital Dublin—is the only official beach race in Europe.

The 150-year-old tradition attracts more than 5000 regular visitors every year and， apart from the obvious difference， its like any other race meeting.

It will be run under the same rules as the Gold Cup or Cheltenham， Joseph Collins， Chairman of Laytown Races， told CNN.

Organizers are in a race against time to set up the spectacle， battling against the tide to build the track and enclosures on the sand.

Spectators then pack into a makeshift “grandstand”， made up of steps cut into an elevated sand dune， to enjoy the historic event.

The first recorded meeting was in 1868 and was initially in conjunction with the Boyne Regatta. Its thought that the rowing competition was held at high-tide and the racing at low-tide.

每年都有那么幾個(gè)小時(shí)，愛爾蘭海岸的沙灘都會(huì)因?yàn)橐粓?chǎng)獨(dú)特的賽馬比賽而變得截然不同。

萊敦沙灘賽馬賽距離愛爾蘭首都都柏林26英里，是歐洲唯一的官方沙灘賽馬。

這個(gè)有著150年歷史的傳統(tǒng)賽馬項(xiàng)目每年都能吸引來5000多名游客，除了場(chǎng)地有點(diǎn)獨(dú)特，它和其他的賽馬沒什么區(qū)別。

萊敦賽馬節(jié)主席約瑟夫·柯林斯告訴CNN：“它的規(guī)則和金杯或切爾滕納姆賽馬節(jié)的規(guī)則完全相同?！?/p>

組織者們正抓緊時(shí)間建造場(chǎng)地，不顧潮水帶來的阻礙，在沙灘上修建跑道和圍欄。

人工搭建的一級(jí)級(jí)臺(tái)階引向高高的沙丘，最終會(huì)形成一個(gè)臨時(shí)搭建的“正面看臺(tái)”，到時(shí)候觀眾會(huì)在那里欣賞這歷史性的時(shí)刻。

首次有記載的沙灘賽馬賽是在1868年，它最初與博因賽艇會(huì)一起舉行。人們推測(cè)賽艇比賽在漲潮時(shí)舉行，而賽馬在退潮時(shí)舉行。

Word Study

stretch /stret?/ n. 一片;一泓;一段

spectacle /'spekt?kl/ n. 盛大的活動(dòng);盛大的演出

makeshift /'me?k??ft/ adj. 臨時(shí)替代的

conjunction /k?n'd???k?n/ n.（引起某種結(jié)果的事物的）結(jié)合，同時(shí)發(fā)生

in conjunction with與……一起

The police are working in conjunction with tax officers on the investigation.