The camel is an animal synonymous with the desert and it was for centuries referred to as the " Ship of the desert". It had varied uses and its milk was drunk as an aphrodisiac for sexual stamina. This recipe is mentioned in the "the Perfumed Garden" the ancient erotic Arabian book. It was also used to traverse the desert when long lines of caravans trudged across the sandy wastes. They trod along uncharted routes relying on guidance from the position of the stars. The camel has a peculiar capability to survive in the desert without food and water for days and
that was the reason it was mainstay animal of the desert.Times changed and the camel lost its pre-eminent position as a means of transportation. This was facilitated by millions of Petrodollars and the centuries-old use of the camel to traverse the desert was stopped and the Toyota Land cruiser appeared. It was almost like a revolution.
With tons of money, the rich now began to indulge in the sport of camel racing. This sport was continuing in a sporadic manner but really picked up in the 20th century. The camels began to be trained to race and special camel race courses were built. A new set of rules were put into effect. Initially, the camels were ridden by small boys as jockeys. The kids were tied and bound to the camel's hump and were trained to prod the camel forward with a whip.
It was an inhuman act and in 2002 the UAE government banned the use of child jockeys.This was a welcome step and now the child jockeys are replaced by small robots who are controlled by the owner. with wifi. The camels are specially reared for this race and a retinue of men mostly from the sub-continent maintain the camels and the race course. The prize money now runs into millions of dollars and the game has become big money.
In keeping with the region's rapid development from gulf outpost to an economic powerhouse, the prize money for winning camels can touch more than $2 million. Camels are also highly valued and one bull camel recently fetched a price of 35 million Dirham -- over $9.5 million.
Camels are brought up in special camel farms, but the camel races, unlike the horse races have no jockeys. What do they have?they have radio jockeys. This is something new. Watching a camel race is great fun and the camel racing season starts and ends during the winter months.It's great fun. It will be on, this winter so why not take a holiday there and witness the camel races. maybe one could make some pocket money as well on small bets.
