Can you tell me
about yourself?
Hey my name is Khalid Al Merri, I'm
43 years old, I live in Abu Dhabi and I was born here. I started camel racing
when I was 13 years old when it was allowed for kids to ride the camels. I won
over 17 races and my father was one of the famous camel racers.
What is the
history of Camel racing?
In the old days children were used
to work as camel jockeys, because they are lighter so camels can go faster and
easier, but in 2002 the UAE law banned
using the children as a jockeys because of the high number of injured children
at races.
Who banned the
use of child jockeys?
The United Arab Emirates was the
first country that banned using children under 15 years old as jockeys in camel
racing.
Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan banned
in 2002, in 2009 he paid compensation to 879 former jockeys. The UAE issues penalties
and other punishments like jail and banning from racing for those who use the
kids as jockeys. However, all other countries reported violations of this ban.
How do robot
jockeys work?
The robots jockey is a machine that is
commonly used for camel racing instead of human jockeys; that developed since
2004 and they are used on all middle east countries for racing.
What is the
popular countries with Camel racing?
Camel racing is a popular sport in Mongolia.,
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman,
Australia, and Pakistan.
Where can you
watch Camel Racing?
There are around fifteen tracks
spread in the UAE, if you want to have fun watching this sport you can head to
Al Wathba Camel Race Track which is about 45km east of Abu Dhabi on Al Ain Road
or another is on the Al Maqam track near Al Ain.
How
much does it coast to watch the race?
Entrance to the races is free.
What is the
distance of the track?
Race distances vary. 4K to 10K is
the general range. Some may have only 15 Camels, others as many as 70 or more.
Morning races feature camels owned by the sheikh and the afternoon is open racing. Winning an afternoon race can mean a tremendous amount of prestige.
Do the winners
in open races get anything?
Most sheikhs buy the camels that win
the races, and the seller gets a big payoff from the sheikh.
Camel racing grows internationally
and the sport is still growing.
