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Back in the Saddle in Iraq
Washington Post ^ | 1/10/04 | Pamela Constable

Posted on 01/09/2004 9:18:48 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection

When the fourth race at the Baghdad Equestrian Club got underway Friday, No. 1, a big-boned gray named Fawal, was heavily favored to win. But No. 6, the muscular, chocolate-colored Burhana, pulled ahead at the final turn, maintained his lead and finished first by a neck.

The all-male crowd in the stands, many of them chronic gamblers and most of them scruffy, booed and grumbled in disappointment as they watched the instant replay. But for once, few doubted that the contest had been fair, and neither Fawal's jockey nor his trainer had to fear being jailed and beaten for the costly upset.

Former president Saddam Hussein's son Uday "used to run this club, and his horses had to win or the jockey would be punished. One was beaten and kicked to death right in front of the stands," said Raad Samir, 32, a businessman who owns several race horses. "Now it is much more comfortable. A jockey can win or lose without fear."

Thoroughbred racing, once a part of Iraq's proud desert heritage and more recently a victim of its self-indulgent dictatorship, has made a rapid comeback since Hussein's government was toppled in April. Track officials say races started up again only 10 days after bombs stopped falling on Baghdad, and the sport has steadily regained popularity ever since.

One undeniable appeal is gambling, which was banned during Hussein's rule but has now become not only an above-board pastime but a source of income for some of the thousands of men who lost their jobs in the economic and political dislocations of recent months.


(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: horse8racing; horseracing; iraq; racing; rebuildingiraq; uday
THE
TIME
FOR
FR
GIFTING
IS
HERE.

1 posted on 01/09/2004 9:18:48 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
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2 posted on 01/09/2004 9:20:28 PM PST by Support Free Republic (I'd rather be sleeping. Let's get this over with so I can go back to sleep!)
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Interesting article!

It may interest folks to know that Appaloosas are very hot items abroad, and popular with both European and Middle Eastern buyers. I read during the Iraq war that one of Saddam's odious whelps had an Appaloosa breeding farm somewhere in Iraq, and when the Saddamites fled, the Iraqis ran in and helped themselves to the horses. They also "liberated" a couple of other Saddam-owned race horse stud farms.

So I bet the overall bloodline in the ordinary Iraqi horse has also improved as a result of the war. To say nothing of that new crop of spotted little foals getting ready to greet the new year!
3 posted on 01/10/2004 4:24:38 AM PST by livius
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