GR translation: a bitter day at the racetrack

[Mike Jing]

V384.41-385.14, P391.8-22   They were sporting the Caligari gloves
which now enjoy a summer vogue in the Zone: bone white, except for the
four lines in deep violet fanning up each gloveback from wrist to
knuckles. All wore suits nearly as light-colored as the teeth. It
seemed extravagant to Squalidozzi, after Buenos Aires and Zürich. The
women crossed their legs often: they were tense as vipers. In the air
was a grassy smell, a smell of leaves burning, that was strange to the
Argentine who, terminally homesick, had only the smell of freshly
brewed maté after a bitter day at the racetrack to connect it with.
Crowned window frames gave out on the brick factory courtyard where
summer air moved softly. The filmlight flickered blue across empty
windows as if it were breath trying to produce a note. The images grew
blunt with vengeance. “Yay!” screamed all the zootsters, white gloves
bouncing up and down. Their mouths and eyes were as wide as
children’s.

What does "a bitter day at the racetrack" refer to here? Does it mean
that he lost money betting on the races? Or is it something else?
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Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l