Veliefendi Race Course
| Location |
Veliefendi, Zeytinburnu, Istanbul, Turkey 
 |
|---|---|
| Owned by | Jockey Club of Turkey (TJK) |
| Date opened | 1913 |
| Screened on | TJK TV |
| Course type | Flat/Thoroughbred |
| Notable races |
|
Veliefendi, Zeytinburnu, Istanbul, Turkey
Veliefendi Race Course (Turkish: Veliefendi Hipodromu) is a horse racing track located at Veliefendi neighborhood in Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul, Turkey.
It is the country's oldest and biggest race course founded on a former grassland that was historically a farm belonging to Şeyhülislam Veliyüddin Efendi, an 18th-century superior authority of Islam in the Ottoman Empire. The race course was constructed in the years 1912/13 by German specialists upon the initiative of Enver Pasha.
The race course hosts also music events. In 2006, Turkish pop singer Nez held a concert.
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.
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 about 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.
In July 1953, bettors throw horsemen with stones and beat a jockey named Muhacir Ahmet (literally: Ahmet The Immigrant) they believed he had swindled. Two years later local newspapers published 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.
In 2008, the track held its first-ever farewell ceremony for a racehorse, honoring Ribella, a popular mare.
Coordinates: 40°59′14″N 28°53′20″E / 40.98709°N 28.88881°E
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Wikipedia