RACING IN OLD ROME.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 297, 18 July 1929, Page 2

RACING IN OLD ROME.

VOGUE OF CHARIOT EVENTS. That horse racing exercised a far stronger hold on the Romans as sport than it does on England to-day is indicated by a recent article in the Nineteenth Century by Mr Stanley W. Keyte. As an institution it lasted for 1000 years, and after the downfall of the city the racing traditions of Rome were carried to Byzantium. Rome’s greatest racecourse, says Mr Keyte, was the Circus Maximus. I This was a gigantic stone structure, I roughly rectangular in shape, faced J with marble, and three storeys high. I It was 180 yards wide and 600 yards j long. It was banked on the inside with seats like a modern stadium. The concourse of spectators it held was astonishing. Details for an exact estimate are not available, but authorities, both ancient and modern, agree that a conservative estimate would be 150,000. The building was erected on superimposed arches. On the ground floor 100 arches were used as entrances, and the remaining 200 were let as shops. Down the centre of the arena ran an isolated wall 380 yards long and 5 feet high and 20 feet wide. This occupied only two-thirds of the length of the arena, thus leaving ample room at either end for turning. The

turn ng posts were fixed four yards j out from each end of the wall, and consisted of three gilt pillars, each 80 feet high, and set close together in a triangular pattern on a stone base. A chalk line on the ground r— irked the end of the course. Seven rounds j made up a race, and there was a scor- j ing device to show spectators how many laps had been covered. For a time athletic contests and other sports were he.d at the Circus Maximus, but as the cuit of horse racing increased the great arena was used ma nly for racing. For days before a meet’ng programmes were posted throughout the city. Bett ng among all classes was rife. At midnight before the opening of 1 he games the crowds began to pour into the unreserved portion of the circus. Until daylight the spectators amused themselves as best they could. Racing was officially a full dress event, and all, rich and poor alike, wore the toga. When dayl.ght earn*, and the occupants of the reserved seats began to arrive, the early comers amused themselves by “barracking” the aristocrats as they entered the circus. The popular were greeted with cheers and the unpopular with hisses and missiles. Apples were the favourite projectiles, and were recognised legally as allowable. In

earlier days stone throwing was indulged in. In order to stop this the city aediles found themselves compelled to legalise the use of apples. The distance covered was four miles, and the time occupied was usually about 15 minutes. Some authorities hold that as many as 25 chariot races were run in a day. From this it is gathered that, after allowing for clearing the course, etc., the racing lasted for eight hours. Horses were trained from the age of three years, but were not allowed on the course until they were aged five years. Racehorses were ridden | bareback. In the chariot race the I drivers had just room to stand in I their two-wheeled, springless char--4 liots, from which they managed four - horses. They tied the reins about their.wa'sts and relied on a knife to cut themselves free in case of an accident.

The provinces were as deeply interested in the events as the city, and by a s'mple device the results were flashed from Rome to the provinces. Swallows, marked with the winning colours, were released from the arena. In one instance, Volaterrae, 130 miles f from Rome, received the results two hours after the race by that means.