Veliefendi Race Course
Horse racing track in Istanbul, Turkey From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Horse racing track in Istanbul, Turkey From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Veliefendi Race Course (Turkish: Veliefendi Hipodromu) is a horse racing track located at Veliefendi neighborhood in Bakırköy district of Istanbul, Turkey.[2]
Location | Veliefendi, Bakırköy, Istanbul, Turkey |
---|---|
Owned by | Jockey Club of Turkey (TJK) |
Date opened | 1913 |
Screened on | TJK TV[1] |
Course type | Flat/Thoroughbred |
Notable races |
|
It is the country's oldest and biggest race course founded on a former grassland that was historically a farm belonging to Şeyhülislam Veliyyüddin Efendi, an 18th-century superior authority of Islam in the Ottoman Empire.[3] The race course was constructed in the years 1912/13 by German specialists upon the initiative of Enver Pasha.[4][5]
The race course hosts also music events. In 2006, Turkish pop singer Nez held a concert.[6]
The race course covers an area of 59.6 ha (147 acres) consisting of facilities for racing, training and barns. The race course has three interleaved tracks as:
The track's seating capacity is 7,600. The complex comprises offices, a museum, an exhibition hall, a racehorse hospital, an apprentice training center as well as social and recreational facilities.[7]
During a race on July 31, 1949, four race horses, including two favourite horses, did not leave the starting gate upon the referee's start sign, and were disqualified. The bettors protested against a possible swindle by the referees and the racehorse owners, and demanded a rerun. As the referee commission rejected the demand, the crowd set the referee tower, the bleachers, the administration and box offices on fire.[12]
In July 1953, bettors threw stones towards horsemen and beat a jockey named Muhacir Ahmet (literally: Ahmet The Immigrant) whom they believed to have swindled. Two years later local newspapers published news about swindles at Veliefendi Race Course, and during a race on July 13, 1955, the bettors stoned the administration building, and Muhacir Ahmet was beaten once again.[12]
In 2008, the track held its first-ever farewell ceremony for a racehorse, honoring Ribella, a popular mare.[13]