Dashing Through the Sand: The Culture of Camel Racing

The UAE is the universal hub for camel research. Our organisation works closely with camel owners, trainers, and the Dubai Camel Racing Club, as they regularly test camels for their paternity as well as for doping.” – Ulrich Wernery, scientific director, Central Veterinary Research Laboratory

Get set, ready…grab onto your seats, and watch the camels go! From royals to rural folk, camel racing in the UAE is an essential element of national culture that’s loved by all Emiratis. Today, it is also a booming business that draws in crowds from around the country and the world. In fact, these events are among the best opportunities in the country to experience an authentic Emirati tradition while mingling with locals, expats, and international visitors.

Delve into this sporting niche and you’ll soon realise there is an intricate method, even an esoteric science behind the on-track mayhem of race day – the Emirates Camel Racing Federation makes stringent camel racing policies while various regional centres are involved in genetically enhancing breeds of superfast dromedaries. And there’s much more to a camel than meets the eye; read on to find out about female empowerment in the world of these showrunners!

Come winter months and it’s a camel extravaganza – there’s a whole lot more buzz about different camel festivals that are often hosted and named after various UAE rulers. Apart from the races, you can indulge in various camel – centric eccentricities here – think beauty
pageants and camel polo! Mahaliyat, Asayel, Muhajanat, and ‘purebreds, ‘interbreds’ or ‘firstborns’ – hang about the camel hippodromes or auctions for a while and you’ll hear these words thrown around in reference to the most coveted racers.

Don’t worry if you missed the Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Camel Race Festival in February – you’re right in time to straddle into the Al Marmoum Heritage Festival. Come ready to be dazzled; amidst the rising dust and flailing lean legs of camels, there’s plenty of glitz to go around with modern sporting embellishments and luxury wins up for grabs. Are you race ready?

A friend in the desert

There’s more to celebrating camels than the races. Emirati heritage galas such as the Al Dhafra Camel Festival proudly showcase such splendours as camel beauty pageants and auctions. As a single camel can fetch well over Dh1 million, contests are taken pretty seriously; the pageant alone presents 50 different competitive categories. No doubt, events with such high stakes pose hurdles and humps of their own; earlier this year, 12 camels were disqualified from a camel beauty competition in Saudi Arabia as owners were found guilty of injecting botox into the animals’ pouts for cosmetic enhancements! It’s not all money, though; for a quirky Arabian spin on a conventional game, try camel polo – the UAE’s most offbeat sport. Similar to its equestrian counterpart, a goal is scored when the player hits the ball or the camel kicks it towards the goal post. This is a good one to try if you’re turning 16 – the age requirement for the activity.

You’re still good to go without any prior training as a thorough briefing is included in pre-game routines.

Across sands of  time

To a Bedouin, a camel is more than a loyal pet. Over the centuries, tribes across Arabia owe their survival in part to their herds of camels. Used for transportation, milk, meat, hides or as high value assets, camels have been involved in the everyday customs of desert dwellers. Camel racing has always been a thing, albeit in a very different form from the phenomenon it is today. Sprinting astride a camel was more of an impromptu undertaking enjoyed at social gatherings; during the late 20th century, it grew as an organised sport in Africa, the Middle East, India, and Australia.

In the UAE, camel racing became a priority soon after the nation’s union. Today, the UAE is a leading hub for global camel racing events, regulations, and research. The sport has undergone a massive makeover in the past few decades – from presenting the winning jockey with a small gift (usually food) to now being an internationally-renowned experience that could feature week-long festivities and over 15,000 competing, selectively-bred camels. Read More