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Hamster Races Rise in Popularity in U.K.8 March 2001LONDON, England – March 8, 2001 –As reported by the Associated Press: "…In this nation of inveterate bettors, the wagering world is getting creative -- or maybe a little desperate -- as a severe outbreak of the livestock ailment has quieted the action at the gambling parlors that dot the streets of most major British cities. "One Internet betting site is offering hamster races to keep bettors happy until the schedule of more well-established sports returns to normal. "`We've been running hamsters in these little dragsters,' said Ed Pownall, a spokesman for the online company, Blue Square. `You put an exercise wheel in the middle of a 10-inch-long dragster. As they run in the wheel it moves the thing forward.' "…Blue Square has been taking between 300 and 350 bets for each contest -- compared to several thousand for the average horse race - but Pownall said about 2,000 people have logged on to view each race. "…The rodents run six at once along a 30-foot track -- so far, the fastest time is 38 seconds. On Friday, the winners of each of the week's four races will face one another in a tournament showdown. "Horse racing was suspended for a week because of fears that transporting the animals through the countryside from race to race could spread the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease. "…And in a land where people regularly try their luck betting on everything from politics to literary prizes to plot twists in popular soap operas, there's no shortage of offbeat gambling options…" |