Racing on ice

A troika, a three-horse drawn sledge, competes on the frozen Yenisey river during the an amateur horse race near the settlement of Novosyolovo, some 250 km (155 miles) south of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, March 18, 2007. The Ice Derby has been held in Novosyolovo annually at the end of each winter since 1969, drawing participants from the entire region. Due to this year’s mild winter, the ice cover was 50 percent thinner than usual but deemed sufficiently strong for the race to go ahead. Link

Buzkashi

Afghan riders play buzkashi during a competition between Parwan and Panshir provinces in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, March 22,2007. Buzkashi is the national sport of Afghanistan in which players fight to place a goat carcass into a circle goal. That’ll liven up your next gymkhana. Link

Poison darts found at Hong Kong racetrack

Cathay Pacific International Jockey’s Championship Races at Hong Kong’s Happy Valley Racecourse on December 6, 2006

Oh, those wacky Chinese people. First they put bears on horses, then they stage horse fights, and now this. CNN reports that police in Hong Kong are investigating the discovery of an elaborate device, found embedded in the turf of one of their largest racetracks, which had the apparent intent of shooting poison darts at the horses at the start of a race. The police source said the shooter was almost certainly related to betting, and could be linked to organized crime syndicates, known as triads. Lovely. (Story via Standardbred Canada)