You sure can meet a rare class of people at Moscow's Hippodrome. Sidle up to a few of the regulars and you may spend an unforgettable afternoon picking up tips on betting, spitting and that expressive art form of Russian cussing known as mat.


But stroll across the field a world away from the betting windows and you will meet the real legend of the hippodrome -- Anton Tarabuyev, a 50-year veteran of the track. Having worked his way up from stable boy to master trainer, he is the closest thing to a permanent fixture the crumbling hippodrome has to offer.


"I'm the oldest one here," says Tarabuyev, 63, who came to the track during World War II. The son of a horse trainer, Tarabuyev followed in his father's footsteps while he was still young, starting at the Hippodrome when he was only 13. Before his 14th birthday, he had already trotted his way to several victories.


"Those were the glory days," he says, reminiscing about the track after the war, when thoroughbreds as well as trotters graced the field and the horses had plenty of hay.


"The other government was better to us than this one," says Tarabuyev, referring to Soviet times, when Khrushchev and Brezhnev frequently visited the track. "They came, they bet, and they won."


Even Stalin made a few guest appearances, although he was not the horse lover his son, Vasily, was, Tarabuyev adds.


The concept of making some easy money on the ponies may seem out of line with traditional communist ideology, but Tarabuyev, a former party member, fails to see the conflict. If anything, he says, it was better in the old days, when all the gambling went on under one roof. "Now you've got casinos all over town, but they still come to the track," he says.


Indeed, every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday the stands are packed, and the betting windows perilous as frenzied gamblers shove their way to the front to put money on a "sure thing." But the hippodrome, which celebrated its 160th anniversary this week, has seen better days.


"Take a look around, there's mud everywhere," says Tarabuyev. "The authorities used to curse us for that. Now no one even pays attention."


But not everything has changed for the worse. Under the Soviet system all the track employees had a set salary, regardless of how well their horses ran. Now they get a piece of the action, with trainers earning 15 per cent of their horses' winnings. This is definitely bad news for the trainers who are stuck with the slower trotters, but Tarabuyev -- who has 40 horses in his charge -- has no complaints. He may not boast the fastest horses on the track, but neither are they the slowest, he says modestly. From his cut he is able to earn a handsome salary.


He has even earned enough to buy a horse of his own. Together with his son, Alexander, who is also a trainer, Tarabuyev bought Gost -- whose name translates as "guest" -- a mahogany colt who, in the two years since he has been racing, has been in the money for all but three races.


Still, Tarabuyev is nothing if not fair. He gives Gost no more attention than his other charges. Ask which one he likes the best, and he will tell you, "They're all my favorites."