Camel Race

Camel Race

Introduction

Camel racing is among the popular activities practiced in various countries, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Australia, and of course, Mongolia. In these countries, camel racing is practiced like any other professional game, for instance, horse racing. Among the most famous annual racing is Camel Cup held at Alice Springs in Australia.    Besides, the activity contributes hugely to boosting the economy of the above countries by attracting betting and tourist clients. Routinely, camels run at speed up to 65km per hour during racing, and at an average of 40km/h.

Camel racing is usually managed by child jockey; however the currently implemented rules in most countries, including UAE has banned children’s camel racing. Remote-controlled robotic whips are mostly preferred during racing as opposed to being ridden by Jockeys. As pointed out earlier, the activity is commonly practiced in Australia. It is a country that has the most significant racing known as “The Boulia desert Sands,” where the winner is awarded $ 500,000. In light of the above, the study will critically analyze the origin of camel racing, rules, reasons for its popularity, legal issues, treatment of animals, gambling, and its profitability.

How camel racing began

According to Soman & Tinson (2016), camel racing is as old as itself. The practice can be traced back to the early Islamic period during the 7^th century CE in the Arabian Peninsula, the ancient habitat of a dromedary. Notably, camels were not predominantly rarely for racing since they could as well be used as sources of transport, meat, milk and of course transport. During this period, camel racing was a human being sport practiced in locally-based communities during festivals and social gatherings. Soman & Tinson (2016) further suggest that camel competition was practiced informally in Arab countries and elsewhere until towards the end of the 20^th century. It was during the last decades of the 20^th century when the interested parties began to organize formal competitions by putting in place policies to govern the practice.  Before the 20^th century, camel racing was only trained and practiced in Arabic countries until it was recognized in other countries like Australia, Egypt, India, Sudan, and Kenya.

Camel racing rules

Camel racing rules differ from one country to another. For instance, in the United Arab Emirates, the activity takes place between October and April, which is the coldest period of the year and is composed of up 30 registered entrants.  Цепух (2017) opines that the participants organize for a meeting prior to competition day to put in place rules, including the distance to be covered, time, an award for the winner. Handicapping is as well crucial since it aids in differentiated racing camels based on age, bread, and sex. Notably, female camels are most preferred due to their lightness, and their swiftness is effected by using low weight jockey as riders.

Additionally, the rules governing racing rotates around the participants, both the camel and rider. Participating camels are supposed to be three years old and above, and the participants can be disqualified upon dishonoring the stipulated rules. Цепух (2017) suggest that the ricer must be 15 years of age, and camels must stay in course as well as passing through all the marked gates. Besides, camel racing is similar to that of a horse, and it should be active for up to two days. It is important to note that winning camel is awarded money during seasonal racing, and they usually associated with 4k and 10k. The regulators chose Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to be the racing dates.

Reasons for its popularity

Camel racing is among the worldly recognized significant sports. Camel racing has gained considerable popularity in various countries because they are a center of tourist attraction. For instance, “The Boulia desert Sands” international competition attracts participants from multiple countries due to the handsome grand prize offered to the winner. Camel racing is a vital practice in Arabic countries. For instance, in UAE, camel racing is among the core sports, and it depicts the cultural background of the local community. Notably, people are usually attracted by various costumes worn by the racers from multiple countries. Again, it is through camel racing that the young generation gets to learn about local costumes and ways to modernize it.

Tourist and betting addicts tend to have much interest in countries which practice camel racing. During racing, those with interest in betting form groups with peers where they can place bets based on the racing camels, a situation which floods the racing grounds with folks from all walks of the world. Overall, camel racing audiences and participants converge at the field purposely to uphold their existing culture, make fun, and explore new events as well as practices. Besides, it is among the vital activities in Arabic countries.

Legal issues and controversies

As noted earlier, Jockey (children camel riders) are most preferred to ride camels during racing. Some of the participating countries fall short of children who can wholeheartedly participate during competition. As a result, they tend to kidnap kids from other countries who later grow and trained to be jockeys. According to Shah, Haddow, Ibrahim, Sheikh & Alhemeiri, (2018), kids are kidnapped from countries like Bangladesh, Iran, Afghanistan, and Sudan to UAE to be trained as Jockeys. Since riding a camel is sometimes dangerous, those from UAE and other countries tend to discourage their kids from engaging in the activity. As a consequence, immigration agents from victim countries have become more vigilant to curb child trafficking menace.

The activity has attracted a number of negative controversies due to child trafficking. Additionally, some countries, including Iran and Sudan, have been pleading with sports agencies and regulators to ban camel racing due to the mysterious disappearance of children (Haddow, Ibrahim, Sheikh & Alhemeiri 2018). It hurts not to learn some of the Jockeys who race in the United States of the Persian Gulf cannot identify their parents. Other controversies suggest that parents usually sell their kids in exchange for money or job vacancies. Due to child trafficking controversy, countries including UAE has, in the recent past, banned the use of children under the age of 15 years as jockeys.

Treatment of animals

Camels are the most significant animals in dry countries like the Unites Arabs Emirates, and demands to be treated with care. They are considered as Chips of the desert due to their immense contribution to residents in various ways, including transport and milk provision (Chatty, 2016). Camel’s care is vital, and it demands to be monitored frequently. Notably, caregivers ensure that camels live in a group at a designated firm, where they can feed and interact freely (Haddow, Ibrahim, Sheikh & Alhemeiri 2018). Besides, the healthy leaving of these animals is enhanced by washing them with medical shampoos to keep them clean (Chatty, 2016). Again, it is a critical requirement for the health team to provide a medical report for each camel, which will aid in tracking their health progress.

Notably, it the duty of caregivers to ensure that the camels receive necessary vaccination, general check-ups, blood test, and vitamins needed to maintain their health. Chatty (2016) suggests that caregivers provide that camels have access to enough food, and they are fed twice a day, in the morning and evening. The preferred food for racing camels is alfalfa grass, which is rich in protein to improve their performance (Chatty, 2016). Professional caregivers suggest that each camel should have an individual who will ensure that their need and care is met extensively. Importantly, there exists a schedule for managing camels, whereby they have working and resting days. During working days, they are ridden for only an hour in the morning and afternoon.

Gambling during racing

Dubai’s annual camel racing Festival is among the famous events, where gamblers place lump sum amounts of money at stake. It is during this period when Dubai’s economy is boosted hugely due to an increased supply of money (Chatty, 2016). Also, it is during this period when companies run the best promotions ever purposely to build up the event. Once camel racing is held in a country, the residents benefit massively due to the high flow of money, where they can trade in various merchandises (Chatty, 2016). Again, bookies-related companies make more sales since people will tend to take as much advantage as possible from the offers. Overall, camel racing operates equally like other sports, and they are a major contributor to the growth of the economy.

Camel racing attracts gamblers like any other game. Placing a bet in a camel racing demands a player to learn the weaknesses and strengths of both the racers and camels. Camels are renowned for how best they perform on various distances, and gamblers place bets based on their historical performance (Chatty, 2016). The existing research reveals that short distances are the trickiest to predict, and is where gamblers witness surprises. When there is a big prize up for grabs, they are mostly worn by trainers; however, research is vital before engaging in gambling (Chatty, 2016). Overly, it is always advisable for gamblers to consider placing bets on old and experienced camels; however, the younger tend to be vast in speed.

Profitability

Camel racing has been far much away profitable in the countries where it is practiced. For instance, camel racing boosted the economic status of UAE from gulf outpost to a significant commercial hotspot because the prize which was awarded to winning camels amounted to $2 million (Cuadrado, Young & Vance, 2017). Apart from racing, people could engage in camel trading, where a single bull camel could bring in over $9.5 million. The racing participants suggests that the activity is part of their tradition and culture, and it will remain in existence. Notably, a considerable number of houses in countries participating in this activity have a camel that is involved in racing (Haddow, Ibrahim, Sheikh & Alhemeiri 2018). As a result, one can easily conclude that camel racing is a profitable activity.

Apart from profitability, the cost of camel treatment and feeding can outweigh its profits if not appropriately managed. A health camel for racing demands frequent blood tests and consistent dietary regimes (Cuadrado, Young & Vance, 2017). Besides, the camels require to be fed with honey, which can cost up to $3,250 per kilogram. Additionally, health care cost has also been a challenge since the cost of keeping one camel healthy can escalate up to $1,300. It is important to note that racing participants do not count the losses incurred to maintain camel’s health since it is enough to cater for all the expenses incurred (Yam & Khomeiri, 2015). Overall, camel racing is much profitable, especially to the winners and the country hosting the games because the money spends during the activity boosts its economic level.

Conclusion

Overly, camel racing is among the popular activities practiced in various countries, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Australia, and of course, Mongolia. Among the most famous annual racing is Camel Cup held at Alice Springs in Australia. Camel racing is frequent in Australia and is a country that has the most significant racing known as “The Boulia desert Sands,” where the winner is awarded $ 500,000. Camel racing is as old as itself. The practice can be traced back to the early Islamic period during the 7^th century CE in Arabian Peninsula, the ancient habitat of the dromedary.  During camel racing, the host country’s economy is boosted hugely due to the increased supply of money. It is, however, worth noting that camel racing has been associated with various controversies, including child trafficking used as jockeys.

References

Chatty, D. (2016). Heritage policies, tourism and pastoral groups in the Sultanate of

Oman. Nomadic Peoples, 20(2), 200-215.

Cuadrado, P. S., Young, H., & Vance, A. (2017). Camel racing: The multi-million dollar

industry mixing modernity and tradition.

Huggins, M. (2015). Sports gambling during the Second World War: a British entertainment for

critical times or a national evil?. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 32(5), 667-683.

Soman, S. S., & Tinson, A. (2016). Development and evaluation of a simple and effective real

time PCR assay for mitochondrial quantification in racing camels. Molecular and cellular probes, 30(5), 326-330.

Shah, I., Haddow, J. D., Ibrahim, H. A., Sheikh, M. V., & Alhemeiri, F. S. (2018). A novel and

innovative hair test to determine glucocorticoid levels in racing camels for use in assessment of doping, health, and disease. Drug testing and analysis, 10(4), 742-749.

Цепух, М. (2017). СHILD JOCKEYS.

Yam, B. A. Z., & Khomeiri, M. (2015). Introduction to Camel origin, history, raising,

characteristics, and wool, hair and skin: A Review. Research Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Management, 4(11), 496-508.