RACING OF ROME

Hokitika Guardian, 27 May 1929, Page 7

RACING OF ROME

EXCITING SPORT. Readers of the-Nineteenth Century for April are renuiuiod in an ariiui by Ah* 'Stanley \i . iveyte that hors, racing exorcised a lar stronger Ju.. on the Romans as sport than il J>.e on England 10-day. As an institn „ion it lasted lui* iiCOJ years, am after the downfall of the city the ran mg traditions of Rome were carrie. lo Byzantium. Jo the beginning tilpublic games of Rome, of which horses racing was a leading feature. o( copied a week or less every year at the end four months of every yea. were de/oted to racing. At first hone racing was introduced but later it wu; far outstripped in popularity by dial* iot racing. As time went on the popularity of tin; sport became too great for the good of the people, and eventually became a crazy passion. All .Rome flocked to the races. Rome’s greatest racecourse, say: Mr Key to-, was the Circus Alaximus. This was a gigantic stone structure, roughly rectangular in* sliapc j faced with marble, and three storeys high It was banked on tile inside with seats like a modern stadium. The concourse of spectators it held waastonishing. Retails for an exact estimate are not available, but authorities .both ancient and modorn. agree that a conservative estimate would be 150,000. The building was erected on superimposed arches. On the ground floor l 100 arches were user 1 as entrances, and the remaining 20-C were let as shops. Down the centre of the arena ran an isolated wall 380 yards long am five feet high and 20 feet wide. Thi wall occupied only two-thirds of tin length of the arena, thus leaving ample room at either end for turning The turning posts were fixed foui yards out from each end of the wall and consisted of throe gilt pillars each 30 feet high, and set close to gether in a triangular pattern on r / stone base. A chalk line on tbr ground marked the end of the course g.°ven (rounds made up a race, and there was a scoring device to show spectators how many laps had beet covered. For a time athletic contestand other sports were bold at tin Circus Maximus, but as the cult horse racing increased the great aienr was used nv.iinlv for racing. For days before a meeting programmes were posted throughout the city. Betting among all clashes warife. At midnight before the openin'* of th’e games the crowds began to pom into the unreserved portion of th' circus. Until daylight the spectator amused themselves' as best they -ould Racing was offieiallv a* full-dress oven' and all. rich and-poor alike, w re tin* toga. When daylight came, and the occupants of the reserved scats began to arrive, the early comers amnsod themselves by “barracking” the aristocrats as they entered the circus. r 'V nnnular were greeted with cheers am' the unpopular with hisses and m*= siles. Apples were the favourite-, orejcctilos, and were recognised Segal l, as allowable. Tn earlier days stom throwing was indulged in. fn ou.'o to stop this the city aeddos found themselves compelled to legalise th use of apples. The din before the race started w;v deafening, but, as it happens to-day the drop of the starter’s flag' bioiigh silence. Air Koytc points out ih" in negotiating tiio liniroin turn il inside running was r.o advantage, a the chariot had to Oow down, wiiil- - outsider could giving round at at unchecked speed. It was also know that-more smashes occurred on tin inside than on the outside mini*.up The distance covered was tour miles and the time occupied was isual! about 15 minutes, {'’nine auth.ont-.( hold that ::s many as 25 chniiot him were run in a day. From inis it gathered that, after allowing f< clearing tlie course, etc . the • acin lasted for eight hours. Horses were trained Roni lhe ag of three years, but wore not nilowc on the course until they were agefive years. Racehorses wm*e v'ddc bareback. In the charmt rices *l. drivers had just room to .stand i* their two-wheeled, springless chariot-* form which they* managed four lioiv v: They tied the reins a boas their wau* and relied on a knife to cut tuem solves free in case of an accident The provinces were as deeply interested in the events as tlie city, an 1 liv a simple device the results wcv" flashed from Romo to tlie province--* Swallows, marked with the winning colours, were released from the arena Tn one instance, Volute rra-e, 130 mil's from Rome, received the results tw hours after the race by that mean-*