It’s not just us modern men that like a punt and a trip to a race course every once in a while. In fact far from it as it’s just been discovered that even millenia ago many of us were partial to the occasional flutter, or at least watching horse racing. Astonishingly, a tablet in central turkey has been found that is 2000 years old and features horse racing rules etched in stone.
The tablet is part of the a Monument within the ruins of an old stadium at Beyşehir, central turkey. It was apparently built in recognition of a jockey name Lukuyanus who died at a young age.
Analysis of the tablet has revealed a number of rules, such as that it was viewed as important to ensure a sense of fairness within the sport. Professor Hasan Bahar from Selcuk University revealed that “It says that if a horse comes in first place in a race it cannot participate in other races”. The same rule applied to winning owners suggesting a need for everyone to be given a chance to have their moment of glory! It’s thought to be by far the first detailing of rules to laid out for the sport.