If you’re starting to think about a great Halloween costume this year, don’t just settle for being a boring old hobo or clown or witch. This year, wear something that nobody will top. 

But before you run out and shell out a lot of money to become Batman or Lady Gaga, be careful. I’m talking about a specific costume. It’s great, it’s fun, and you can wear it more than once, but only if you get the right one. What is this wonder costume? It’s a dinosaur costume, specifically a T-Rex. 

Just walking into any Halloween party, you will be a hit, because how can anyone compete with a giant, rubber T-Rex? But that’s just the beginning. Because next July you can wear it again. All you have to do is run up to Washington state, to Emerald Downs Racetrack and enter in the T-Rex races.

For three years now, people in T-Rex costumes have been running on the racetrack, even starting out of the same gates that racehorses use. Running as gracefully as a person wearing a giant dinosaur costume can run, they sprint all the way to the end, and the winner gets…bragging rights. 

But the big winners are the fans. Just like horseraces, they get to bet on their favorite dinosaur, with goofy names such as “Dino Dasher”, “Ramblin’ Rex” and “Regular Unleaded.” The fans whoop and holler and groan when somebody falls down, and just generally have a really good time.  It’s family friendly “Dino-mite.”

So if you are trying to think of a great Halloween costume this year, now you know. Get yourself a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex. But even if you can’t make it up to Washington to run on Emerald Downs, grab some friends, (hobos, clowns, witches, or even Batman) and race down the street of your town. You’ll probably have just as much fun.