Horse Races Keep Galloping, Even With Russian-Wide Gambling Ban

President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law changes to the federal rules on gambling, allowing state and municipal hippodromes to run on-site bookmakers, the Kremlin said in a statement Monday.

...There are 40 racecourses in Russia, of which nine are private. Private horse racetracks were allowed to keep bookies, which play a major role in the industry’s income, estimated at anywhere from 40 percent to 70 percent of their total.

Russia is in the middle of a horse racing boom, with the number of horse racing clubs in the Moscow region tripling over the last 5 years.

To meet demand, stables are mushrooming in the Moscow region offering training services and accommodation for rent.

Bitza is one of the largest horse racing clubs in Moscow with a stable for 240 horses. The head of the club, Anatoly Isachkin, says Russia still lacks professional trainers and many owners prefer to keep their horses in Europe.

She says Russians are buying horses mainly in Germany and the Netherlands. They are usually 50% more expensive that Russian ones – and not always worth the money.

74 horse breeders are operating in Russia but few Russian horses are trained for large championships. Russian breeders prefer to sell a horse abroad as soon as the price reaches $50 thousand.

Occasionally a Russian horse is sold for half a million once it reaches the level of the world championships.

Breeders are not willing to take that risk. They can invest thousands of dollars training a horse, over three or four years, and – if it breaks one leg – both the breeder, and the horse, can lose everything.

 The Orlov Trotter is a famous breed which is reared and trained by the people who manage horse racing at the Moscow Hippodrome. This breed is a graceful trotter, and sturdy and full of courage, though other 20th century breeds have developed higher speeds.

Though Russian horse racing is yet to acquire the glamour and high stakes of its peers in other countries, a visit to the Hippodrome serves to complete an impression of the noble and gallant heritage of this land and its people.

Moscow hosts a horse race for the Russian President's prize on Saturday, with the runners and riders at the oldest race track in Europe galloping in front of Dmitry Medvedev and the leaders of former Soviet states.