At the Races

"At the Races" is the eighth episode of The Flintstones season one. It aired on November 18, 1960 on ABC. It was written by Warren Foster, Michael Maltese, and Arthur Phillips, the creators of the show, and produced and directed by William Hanna and Joe Barbera, the co-founders of Hanna-Barbera Productions.

Fred & Barney want to buy a pool hall, so they go down to the dinosaur racetrack, where Fred blows all his money. To cover this up, he tells Wilma he was mugged.

Detailed summary
Fred & Barney enjoy a game of pool at Boulder Dan's Billiards, where they soon find out that the owner is retiring and selling the place for $2,000. Fred gets the idea of them buying the place so they can be their own bosses. They get the idea of betting on the race track, but the only money they have is Fred's $50 wages. They pretend to Wilma that Fred has been mugged, which she doesn't believe until she sees the giant bump on Fred's head (that Barney made to convince her). She calls the doctor, who's a quack, and forces Fred to stay in bed.

Wilma goes out for some market supplies for Fred, after ordering him to stay in bed. This disrupts the boys' plans to go to the race track, so they phone a guy named Herman to bet on race dinosaur for them. Unfortunately, his dodgy dealings have caught up with him, and he's currently in the hands of the police. The only option now is to rush to the bus to the race track.

They make it at the race track and bet on Sabertooth. While there, they run into Fred's boss, who demands to know what he's doing. Fred's initially deceptive, but quickly realises that with the money he thinks he'll win, he doesn't have to hide anything, and tells his boss what he really thinks of him, along with twisting his big nose around. With Fred out of a job, they hope that Sabertooth really does win, which is further plagued by a Southern colonel betting against his own dinosaur. He mocks them that they shouldn't be betting on the races.

The race begins, and all seems lost until Sabretooth catches up, making for a close match between Sabertooth and Gravelpit, who the colonel bet on. The photo after reveals Sabertooth to have won, allowing Fred & Barney to follow their dream.

On the way home, they hide the money under a rock, before confessing to Wilma of what happened (who they think might just want to put it into a bank), who is thrilled about the idea. They go back to get the money, but are stopped by a mugger. Barney once again goes back to Wilma with a story of how Fred just got mugged, and once again she doesn't believe either of them.

Characters
In order of appearance:

Mentioned and non-speaking characters are in italics


 * Fred Flintstone (Alan Reed)
 * Barney Rubble (Mel Blanc)
 * Boulder Dan
 * Wilma Flintstone (Jean Vander Pyl)
 * Doctor
 * Herman
 * Bus driver (Mel Blanc)
 * Sabertooth
 * Fred's boss
 * Colonel (Hal Smith)
 * Judge
 * Betty Rubble
 * Mugger

Locations

 * Bedrock
 * Boulder Dan Billiards
 * Flintstone house

Vehicles

 * Flintmobile

Behind the scenes

 * This is the first time Betty is absent.
 * This is the first time Fred's boss (or one of the incarnations of Mr. Slate) is seen.