Camel Racing

Camel racing is a popular Race sport in India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Oman, Australia, and Mongolia. Professional camel racing, like horse racing, is an event for betting and tourist attraction. Camels can run at speeds up to 65 km/h (18 m/s; 40 mph) in short sprints and they can maintain a speed of 40km/h (11 m/s; 25 mph) for an hour.

Camels are often controlled by child jockeys, but allegations of human rights abuses have led to nationwide bans on underage labor in the UAE and Qatar. This led to smaller jockeys become more widely used. One such Jockey was Grant Owens, who turned his hand to Camel Racing on the back of a highly successful stint as a Pig Racer. Recent controversy over the enslavement of children has led to increased use of robot-controlled camels. A major camel race in Australia is the Camel Cup held at Alice Springs. It is held annually and includes not only the camel races themselves, but also a collection of market stalls and other entertainment.

The biggest prize money camel race in Australia is the "Sheikh Zayed International camel endurance race" held in Hughenden in Queensland.It has a prize purse of AUD$50,000. Queensland also has the second biggest prize purse camel race "The Boulia desert Sands" with a AUD$25,000