A Night Out at the Turtle Races

Buzz summer intern Morgan Bernard anxiously awaits the start of the first turtle race at Little Woodrow's in Midtown. 

Looking for an unusual night out? You need not go far – just head to Little Woodrow’s in Midtown for the weekly turtle races. On a recent Thursday night, I decided to check out the races for myself. I grabbed a few buddies and we hopped in an Uber to Midtown. 

We arrived in front of Little Woodrow’s on Brazos Street, not really sure what we were about to walk into. We waited in a short line, showed our ID’s to the bouncer and navigated the crowd to the nearest outdoor bar. We mingled a bit and, before we knew it, it was race time. We headed over to a makeshift stadium, complete with a turf “racetrack” and stadium seating (or standing more likely).

A man with a turtle shell backpack headed to the center of the “arena” and placed a bucket face down. A lucky customer was chosen to pick up the bucket and the race was on! The confused reptiles wondered aimlessly around the mini turf field, as the crowd erupted thunderously.

Finally, one of the shelled racers seemed to figure out what was going on and darted to the edge of the arena. And just like that, the race was over. Turtle number 5 was victorious and the crowd was satisfied. 

The bucket is lifted and the turtle race is on!

We stayed for several more races, caught a few t-shirts and koozie that were tossed into the crowd, and then decided to head home. It was definitely not the typical Thursday night. We had a great time, and it became obvious why these races are drawing such large crowds; they’re a blast! 

What are some of your favorite, unique events or places to go in Houston? Share in the comments section below.