Here you have it – the essence of camel racing. The “robot” on the camel’s back, the owner/trainers roaring at the poor animal from the car (always white, always an SUV) driving inside the track, the cameras recording it all. Although it lacked, say, the frenzied atmosphere of Cheltenham, the final day of camel racing here provided an interesting slice of local life. With no betting, only pride (and a big dollar purse) is at stake and the major families of Qatar gather to pit their best camels against each other at racing which takes place almost every day in April. The rest of the time, the camels, worth up to Eu50,000, train in desert camps, which we passed on the way. All the winning camels have “robot” riders although pacemakers, which are camels with human beings on their backs, are used at the start to get them all going.
Not a single local woman could be spotted, although in other countries, women are used as jockeys. Getting in cost us nothing, although we were searched airport-style. Once inside we could stuff ourselves on kebabs, etc, with Arabian pastries for dessert. Very nice!
No comments yet.