The people of Simtakka are a sporting lot, always ready to place a bet. They will bet on anything--ask some of the old-timers around the Plaza to tell you about last winter's flea races. But camel racing is the big sport. Most of the residents are connected with the caravan trade directly or indirectly, and thus with camels, and all consider themselves to be good judges of form.

Racing camels come mainly from the villages of Naesim, Badanna, and An Selim at the edge of the oasis of the Simtakka Valley, where they are raised by several enterprising families. Some are raced by the breeders, others bought and trained and raced by merchants and nobles of Simtakka. Incoming caravans are also likely to have one or two camels whose speed they boast of.

Races may be informal matchings of one camel against another over any convenient bit of trail, or well-organized events with dozens of camels running at once over carefully selected courses. The two-camel matches are usually impromptu, with the camels ridden by their owners, and seldom attract much of a crowd (unless the challenge is made in a crowded tavern). The big events are organized at irregular intervals during the course of the year by the owners of caravansaries, and they include mass races, obstacle races, and a few long-distance matches between the very best camels. There are several semi-professional camel jockeys who ride in these races. The best place to hear about these is in the main bar at An Kamar's Traveler's Rest, the biggest serai in Simtakka.

Betting on camel races is always heavy. Bartenders at the Traveler's Rest sometimes serve as stakeholders in private wagers, having proven their honesty many times in the past. There are also professional gamblers--the bartenders at the Rest can usually tell you which ones are honest.

The governor has never been a fan of camel racing, and the city officially ignores it--so long as it doesn't result in a riot. (Riots following the races are not unheard of--several years ago, a man complained that the camels from Badanna had all been fed something for weeks before the race that prevented them from running their best. Efforts to prove or disprove this failed, but those who lost money on the Badanna camels often refused to pay, and it took weeks for things to calm down. It's still a touchy subject.) The races are always held outside the oasis, usually in Camel Valley, a narrow valley where the steep slopes provide a natural grandstand. An Kamar has been heard to speculate on the possibility of moving the site of the races closer to the city, to a site known as the Plain of Hawks, where a circular course could be laid out.