Camel racing becomes trendy
Australia is nowadays the centre of attention for all those who are fans of animal sport. Where the horses and their trainers were edging their compatriots to clinch the prestigious Melbourne Cup in Flemington, the riders in today’s Melbourne Cup camel races
that are scheduled to take place in Gympie will be using some simpler tactics.
The Melbourne Cup is being celebrated in a unique way by the Queensland communities. The unique and spectacular Gympie’s annual camel racing event managed to allure 2000 sophisticated and well dressed crowd of spectators who enjoyed cheering for their favourite
camels.
One of the main causes that this event is held every year is that it acts as a fundraiser for the local charity group Little Haven Palliative Care. This group works for the compassionate and professional care for the poor people who are terminally ill.
Every year, the event grows bigger in popularity, as revealed by the president of Gympie Turf Club Spencer Slater. The president said, “This year has been just as successful as previous years – the conditions have been great.”
The event started at 1 pm today local time with six 400 metre races continuing throughout the afternoon followed with a celebrity race and charity luncheon.
At the end of the race, the president of the organization said, “What happens here is the camels are all sold to different races and the business then provide their camels and their riders.”
Mr Slater further added, “It’s always a great atmosphere and a lot of fun... the camels are broken in and trained but they are always very unpredictable on the day. There are no weight issues or controls... and there are no reigns either – so you just jump
on and hang on.”
When asked about the jockeys, Mr Slater said that they are professionally trained but are “full of energy and courage.”
When Mr Slater was asked about the similarities between the two animal sports, horse racing and camel racing, he said, “You have no control, you really can’t steer them (camels) so you have just got to hang on and hope they run down the straight as fast
as they can and hope that your camel crossed the line first.” He further added, “They (camels) are very rough and very hard to stay on.”
What makes the event a popular and enjoyable is the fact that so far there have been no falls during the races.
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