Horse racing a fan favorite at Big Fresno fair

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's time to pony up at the Big Fresno Fair.

Horse racing is a fan favorite every year.

Whether you're a rookie wager or a seasoned veteran at the track, you'll find everything you need at the grandstand.

The Big Fresno Fair is known for its delicious treats and hair-raising fun - but many people also come out to enjoy some of the fastest animals on four legs.

Day 2 of the fair welcomed the first day of horse racing at the Tatarian Grandstand

"The community is so good and they support the product and the fair so much, it's nice to give it back to them and just enjoy it for two weeks," says track announcer Chris Griffin.

Thursday kicked off the first of nine days of racing at the Big Fresno Fair.

And if you show up at the grandstand, Griffin's voice is the one you'll hear

He tours the country announcing races and has been doing it in Fresno for the past three years.

"Fresno is always a great time and great weather. Big crowd on hand on Fridays. It should be a really nice opening day and we got a lot of races as well," he says.

Post times are set for 1:15 Thursday through Sunday on most days.

And if you place a wager but your horse doesn't do what it's supposed to -- you still have a chance to win.

"If you have a losing ticket, what you can do is take it to one of the booths on the second floor and ground level. You're going to write your name on the back of the ticket and they're going to do a drawing and giving you some more money as kind of an insurance policy."

According to officials, the Big Fresno Fair has an outstanding track record when it comes to horse safety.

Dozens of people have been put in place to ensure the safety of the animals while the fair does its best to inform the public on race days

"We've also got some videos that are going to play on the video monitors that educate the fans about horse safety and how these horses are taken care of so we encourage those to watch in between our live racing," he says.