A brutal, frenzied and highly dangerous two minutes of mayhem, Il Palio in Siena makes the Melbourne Cup look like a donkey derby. David Whitley finds five reasons why no other horse race can compete.
1. The rivalries
The rivalry at Il Palio is about as bitter as you can get. The contest is between Siena’s 17 contrade (town districts), and is used as the ultimate one-upmanship contest. Before the race, the contrade seek out and pay big bucks for the best jockeys in the country.
They then have to keep both horse and rider safe up until the race – a lot of money is staked in under-the-table bets, and there have been numerous attempts at bribery, doping and jockey-beating in the past.
For Johnny Tourist, of course, picking a horse to barrack for is about as scientific as an office sweepstake. The girls go for the prettiest colour or cutest animal – most of the contrade have an animal as a symbol.
The guys go for the hardest beast – dragon, panther, wolf – or football colours. “I don’t care if Lupa’s horse is a three-legged donkey – it’s Collingwood through and through,” is one justification.
One tip – before picking a favourite and buying a team flag, make sure the horse is running. Only ten of the contrade compete in each race, and the guy waving the green and orange rhino flag doesn’t half look stupid when his horse doesn’t show up.
2. The build-up
It’s not just about the race; in the week preceding Il Palio, Siena is party central, with private contrade parties thrown in random backstreets. All seem to involve a lot of drink and filthy chants.
There are parades of the horses throughout the city, led by drummers going frankly mental, and it all ramps up a gear on the day itself. For two hours before the race, there are processions of trumpet-players, jugglers lobbing banners in the air and knights charging around with lances pointed in front of them.
3. The racetrack
Oh yes – the truly mental bit… Il Palio isn’t held on a proper racetrack, but around the town square. Before the race, a bit of dirt is put down around the edge of the Piazza del Campo and watered.
The horses are expected to race at full pelt around the perimeter, managing to dodge the odd awkward building that sticks out into the track. Aside from those paying a small fortune to sit on benches and balconies around the sides, the only viewing area is the centre of the square, and the good spots go at least four hours before the start of the race.
Our group is in early after a few ill-advised afternoon pints. There’s no way out once you’re in – the on-rush of people through the only entrance/ exit is too big to fight past. “Mate, use the water bottle while we hold the flags around you,” is one helpful offer to the truly stricken.
4. The race
In those hot, toilet-free hours before the race starts it’s time for some Melbourne Cup-style “my stallion’s better than your mule” banter, but it all falls eerily silent just before the start. And then comes the most insane two minutes anyone has ever seen.
There are no rules, and the jockeys are riding bareback at full tilt, using their whips to attack each other, shunting the other horses and crossing racing lines to force competitors to crash into barriers.
One jockey loses his grip going round a corner, falls on top of the riderless horse coming up on the side and bounces off with a sickening crash into the crowd. That’s gotta hurt…
Only four riders finish, and when the winner crosses the line, the crowd surges onto the track to celebrate, right into the path of the still-galloping losers.
5. The Bond effect
Amongst the chaos, one of the American girls in the group points up at a balcony. “Isn’t that James Bond?” She’s right. Daniel Craig and the crew of the next 007 movie are in town, filming Il Palio in order to use it as part of a major action sequence.
The race will be a key part of the as-yet-unnamed 22nd Bond film, due to be released in November 2008
“Jeez – we’re all extras in a Bond movie…”
For the next few hours, the streets of Siena go off as people crowd into bars to watch replays. The winning district is effectively sealed off to outsiders while the mother of all parties kicks into gear. They won’t even allow our new Bond girls in; that’s how seriously the locals take it.
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