[GORDON]
Ponies in the sun
The race is soon beginning
My father bet the family fortune
On a sleek brown horse
My father had a hunch
We gave up lunch
So Daddy could make a wager
Ma would scoff
She would scoff
Hear her scoff
And they're off!

[ENSEMBLE]
La la la la la

[GORDON]
Yeah, they're off!

[ENSEMBLE]
La la la la la

[GORDON]
And they move in a herd
Like a four letter word
And they're off!
[ENSEMBLE]
La la la la la

[GORDON]
Tickets float to the ground
And the band starts to play
As the horses go round

[ENSEMBLE]
And they're off!

[GORDON]
Mommy sat and cried
But Dad was unaffected
He said

[JOE]
"Have you ever had a better two minutes
In the last three years?"

[GORDON]
She said

[MIMI]
"But Joe, the dumb horse lost!"
[GORDON]
He said

[JOE]
"Sometimes joy has a terrible cost
I know that"

[GORDON/MIMI]
We would laugh
We would sneer
We would scoff
And they're off!

[ENSEMBLE]
La la la la la

[GORDON]
Yeah, they're off!

[ENSEMBLE]
La la la la la

[GORDON]
Mommy's biting his neck
As they roll on the deck
And they're off
[ENSEMBLE]
La la la la la

[GORDON]
There is blood on the ground
And the band starts to play
As the horses go round

[ENSEMBLE]
And they're off!

[GORDON]
Isn't life funny?
People lose money
And have fun
Betting, of course, is
Hell on the horses
And on families where the betting is done
It's a joke to believe someone's won

[MIMI/JOE/GORDON]
All we did was fight

[GORDON]
Plus they discussed the weather
My father bet the family fortune
Till it disappeared
We also laughed a lot
That was a thing I often forgot to mention
But it's true
Yes, it's true
It is true
And he's off!

[ENSEMBLE]
La la la la la

[GORDON]
Daddy's off!

[ENSEMBLE]
La la la la la

[GORDON]
We get letters from Maine
Where he tries to explain
Why he's off

[ENSEMBLE]
La la la la la

[GORDON]
What was lost was not found
And the band starts to play
As the horses go round

[ENSEMBLE]
And they're off!

[GORDON]
And they're off!

[ENSEMBLE]
I hear the bell at the starting gate

[GORDON]
They are off!

[ENSEMBLE]
We're salivating as we're moving, moving
Down the track

[GORDON]
And they move in a herd
Like a four letter word
And they're off!

[ENSEMBLE]
Coming down the stretch

[GORDON/ENSEMBLE]
There is blood on the ground
And the band starts to play
As the horses go round

[GORDON/ENSEMBLE]
And round and round
And round and round
And round and round
And round and round
And round and round
And round and round
And round and round
And they're off!