Everybody knows about horse racing. There are famous race horse courses at Mahalaxmi and Aston. Horse racing is a universal sport, but in the Middle East and more notably in the United Arab Emeritus, another sport of racing is popular. This is camel racing. One reason for this is that the camel is the main animal of the desert and often referred to as the "ship of the desert".This is because of the resilience of the camel and its ability to traverse the desert without food and water for days.
The Arabs have perfected the art of racing camels. Special camel race courses are built
and it will surprise readers that a camel on the run can attain speeds of 60km an hour.Once the camel gets going it cannot be stopped and it races on. Hence it is important that the rider is a light weight man. Earlier children were used as jockeys but now that is banned and the camel racing is well regulated..Camels are reared in what is known as camel farms. Earlier the camels traversed the desert sands in long caravans but with the advent of the Landrover and the 4 wheel drive, the camel has become obsolete. Hence more camels are available for racing. But we must remember that racing camels is as old as history and is an ancient sport.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi have some wonderful camel racing courses. The Dubai course is overlooked by towering skyscrapers and the Abu
Dhabi course is in the desert. I have attended both the courses and it's an enchanting time. The camels snort and are kick started and soon attain speeds of 60 km an hour. There is a big melee as the camels manouevre to beat each other and there is an wonderful atosphere all around. There is prize money as well.The camel races are now well regulated but just a few years back children mainly boys were sold to traders to function as jockeys. They came from Pakistan, Arabia, and Africa. These children were tied onto the hump of the camels and as the camel's race, the children used to cling on for dear life. Things have changed and now no children are allowed and anyone doing it will have to face the law.
camel racing is popular in the UAE, but I will agree that the big money is in horse racing and Dubai sports the costliest horse race in the world.However, camel racing has its own charm and for me, I love to spend a day watching camels race. It is a wonderful sport.
