The Camel Races in Virginia City, Nevada has been an annual event since 1959, and I was so excited to make 2024 the first year I’d both attend and race as a camel jockey. An event like no other, blending the spirit of competition with a touch of absurdity as camels, ostriches, and even zebras take to the dusty tracks. The cheers of the crowd, the wild ride, and the pure fun of it all made this race a highlight of my year at the International Camel and Ostrich Races.
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Attending the Camel Races in Virginia City
I had two full days of attendance, both Friday and Saturday. Friday I scoped out the format and what to expect. On Saturday, I raced two camel races and one ostrich race. I won my ostrich race and second camel race.
I had previously announced, tongue in cheek, that I was racing to be California’s fastest camel jockey. I’m pleased to report I attained my goal of being the fastest and then some. Fastest was measured by my own proprietary algorithm and tools. And mostly making sure everyone I raced against were from Nevada, not California.
History of the Virginia City Camel Races
As the story goes, the camel races began through a prank war between Virginia City’s Territorial Enterprise and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Bob Richards, editor of the Enterprise, initially wrote a fake story about camels racing in Virginia City. The Chronicle didn’t realize it was a hoax and printed the event. While the Chronicle didn’t pick up the hoax and run with it until 1959, however Richards began the camel race charade in a story he wrote in 1957, 1958 and 1959 before the first official camel race took place in 1960. It was in this period with the Enterprise that Richards honed his creative writing, putting Comstock on the national map when he wrote the infamous fictional piece about the Virginia City Camel Races.
In the 1800s, camels were used as service animals for mining operations, carrying salt for the processing of silver ore, making the claim to race them not seem so far fetched.
The camels brought salt from Walker River salt marsh district all the way to Virginia City. Salt was used along with mercury, heating and grinding ore in an iron vessel, known as the Washoe process.
Bactrian Camels, or two humped camels, were first imported into Nevada from Central Asia by commission merchant Otto Esche. Brought to auction, the venture flopped, where Julius Bandmann, agent for Esche’s commission, bought all thirteen Bactrians camels.
Bandmann sold them to Nevadan mining companies in need of salt transporters. Another entrepreneur, Samuel McLeneghan, purchased camels from the government when they auctioned the remains of their defunct US Camel Corps, an experiment in using the camels as military pack animals, in 1864. Marius Chevalier, a Frenchman, also supplied salt-packing Nevada camels.
The camels caused such a nuisance with their disturbance of other, more common steeds that the Nevada state government passed a law prohibiting camels from public highways in 1875. This law remains in effect today.
The cynanide reduction process for silver ore replaced salt amalgamation, bringing about the camels final practical use to an end.
In 1959, the following year of the original hoax, the Enterprise borrowed camels from the San Francisco Zoo and took them to Virginia City to race them. And thus began the first year of camel racing in Virginia City, in 1959. The Chronical sent their own team to compete in the races against the Enterprise.
Hollywood director John Huston, in the midst of filming The Misfits in Northern Nevada, participated in the first race on a camel borrowed from the San Francisco Zoo.
When the camel races were first starting, the races happened on C Street. The general idea was to get people drunk and convince them to race a camel down the main thoroughfare. It wasn’t uncommon for a camel to keep running and disappear into the landscape beyond.
As a journalist and blogger, it seemed only fitting to continue this tradition of competing with other media in the most ridiculous of ways.
The camel races in Virginia City are nothing like what you’d find in the Middle East or North Africa. These races are taken much less seriously. Like the camel races of a thousand years ago, the Virginia City spectacle decides on riders in each race the day of or less than a day in advance.
Today, the camels come from Hedrick’s (Facebook) out of Kansas, a bed and breakfast and exotic animal farm. Funnily enough, the ranch is in Reno County, Kansas, and now comes to a town just south of Reno, Nevada.
Sources:
- James, Ronald M. The Roar and the Silence: A History of Virginia City and the Comstock Lode. Wilbur S. Shepperson Series in History and Humanities. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1998, 263.
- DiFrancia, Chic. “Virginia City Camel Races: In Search of Bob Richards.” CarsonNOW.org. NOWTown Network, August 24, 2013. https://carsonnow.org/story/08/24/2013/virginia-city-camel-races-search-bob-richards.
- Moore, Emily. “Camels at Virginia City” Intermountainhistories.org, October 20, 2021. https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/526.
- Fowler, Harlan Davey. Three Caravans to Yuma: The Untold Story of Bactrian Camels in Western America. Glendale, CA.: A. H. Clark, 1980.
- Gray, A. A. “Camels in California.” California Historical Society Quarterly 9, no. 4 (1930): 299–317. doi:10.2307/25178096.
- James, Ronald M. and Susan A. James. 2014. A Short History of Virginia City. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2014, 95.
- Wienandt, Christopher. “Mark Twain, Nevada Frontier Journalism, and the ‘Territorial Enterprise’: Crisis in Credibility.” PhD diss., University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, 1995. UNT Digital Library. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278247/.
What to Expect as a Spectator
2024 had 4 shows: Hot Camel Nights on Friday, a 10am showing Saturday, a second show at 2pm, and Sunday Family Day at 12pm. The show includes races with camels, ostriches, zebras, and some kid and family friendly style races with ducks and emus. In between races is a comedy act with a clown and mini-contests with audience participants.
Each show follows a very similar format, although each show is unique with subtle variances. Every race has different jockeys, or riders, and the races have tiny differences. One race for the 2pm show on Saturday was with Sheriffs racing each other.
If I were to return and spectate, I would try and see two shows again. The races themselves go really fast, most lasting under a minute, and its easy to miss. Returning a second time offers a chance to seat in a completely new area and change perspectives.
Ideally, I’d visit for Hot Camel Nights and sit in the open bleachers for the evening, then return for a show Saturday with VIP shaded seating.
There is an opportunity to sit on and be led in a big circle on a camel, for $20 per ride.
The venue has local vendors offering plenty of food and drink, race swag, and some other miscellaneous things to buy.
The easiest way to get to the Fairgrounds are by shuttle. Park in Virginia City, and grab a shuttle that will take you down to the parking lot. Its a 15 minute walk, but not a fun one with the hill and dust. Parking is pretty limited at the actual Fairgrounds.
The Safety Speech
AJ Agusto gathered our group of anxious and eager jockeys to be for a safety speech. He talked about how he will yell at you often and not to take it personally. I understood exactly what this meant and that energy of needing things to happen immediately. Safety was a top priority, and there were wild animals and human lives at risk.
We were warned we could be pissed and shit on by the animals, we could be maimed, and this was a dangerous activity. However, we signed a waiver and agreed we were there to have fun, and to listen to anything the jockeys said at anytime, as they were ultimately in charge.
Things could go from running smoothly to chaos at the drop of an ostrich feather, and I saw this happen several times. Not paying attention can put lives in unnecessary risk. There is also a lot going on, and I know I got yelled at once or twice for not being in the right spot. An easy remedy and the show moves on.
The overall theme was staying safe, and not hesitating to back out of a race at any moment, even right before the chute doors were about to open, and there were no repercussions. I saw this happen, and after talking to the person, it seemed like the right choice, and was accepted by the organizers with a lot of respect.
The woman organizing rides, Christine, I think, decided who rode on which animal and when, asked who had experience in riding, or might have experience relevant to being on zebras or ostriches. I had none, and I could tell I was being initially skipped over. I understood, and it made sense to me – I wouldn’t be my first pick either. I hung around the whole day and took photos and videos, interacted with everyone else, talked to people about their stories, lost track of names over and over.
After the safety talk, I hung out at the camel corral and talked to Janice, who walked me around and let me pet the camels and zebras, then showed me how to use my hand to get the attention of the ostriches. I like to think this was monumental and key in developing both my confidence to ride, and smelling like a camel.
Janice was one of my favorites to meet at the race and offered all kinds of support that really made the whole event so much more fulfilling.
The First Camel Race
Something inside of me transformed as soon as I entered the area where loading began. I went from my usual quiet, observational self, to a hootin’ and hollerin’, adrenaline filled camel jockey. I have no idea what I was yelling at my cohorts in the race, aside from mutual encouragement and excitement.
It was as though I blacked out as soon as I mounted the camel. Something came over me, I felt the sand coursing through my veins from a past life. This is what I was made for. No prior experience, no idea what I was doing, but sitting on that camel felt like the most natural thing in the world.
I grabbed a fistful of hair with one hand and the rope in another. I was ready to ride. I looked to each side, at the other riders and their camels. Those animals were fairly placid. Mine was antsy, moving all over. I slammed into the wall a few times. It was strangely relaxing.
The horn sounded and off we went. Well, off the other two riders went. My camel had other ideas, mostly going the opposite way. We ran the wrong way to the finish line, like a camel swimming upstream, running circles around the handlers.
It took a large group to goad my camel into racing the correct way, by which the other two camels had finished their race. I raised my fist into the air, and received a roar of approval from the crowd. One handed, I ran by one section before grabbing ahold of the hump for support through the bend.
A hand back into the hair for more cheers, before the camel picked up speed at the finish line and I had to grab ahold of both camel and rail.
The nice thing about this race is I got about triple the race time on the camel as anyone else. It was complete chaos. However, I received multiple comments from both handlers and jockeys on my handling of the situation and ability to keep the crowd entertained, which was incredibly flattering.
The Ostrich Race
After my first camel race, I was given a shot on riding an ostrich. This one I felt super nervous for. I went back to one of the main guys in charge and asked some specific questions about grip, where to sit, what to expect at the start.
Then I went to one of the other jockeys, Cody, and asked for his tips and feedback as well. Cody was quite the showman, riding one-handed on all of the animals, and really knew how to handle himself.
Place your legs by the drumsticks, under the wings, grip tight, center yourself. Pull yourself down.
To dismount an ostrich, first check behind you to make sure there are no other birds or dinosaurs charging at you, put your legs out and as you slide off the back, start run-walking, cause the bird never stops moving. As soon as your feet hit the ground, keep your momentum up and get out of the way of the ostrich.
I lucked out in the chute, and also had Cody as the person to keep the ostrich in check until the doors opened. He helped me get centered and positioned. As the only person not to fall off in this race, I attribute that success to him.
I was yelled at to get into the chute for this race – the ostrich was circling like a mad animal and I hesitated too long. I squeezed in and jumped on. During a last minute check it my saddle was found loose and we waited as it was tightened up.
Finally, the horn sounded, and my ostrich galavanted out at a mostly casual pace. I was determined to one hand the ride, and not let Cody be the only one to show off. I did so successfully, until we rounded the corner, and I started sliding from side to side, struggling to stay centered on the slippery feathers.
As the ostrich and I rounded the corner, my bird of flight decided it wanted to ram the other ostrich jockey in first and knock him down. We did so and took the lead, which sent my sliding all over even more. As part of entering ramming speed, we picked up quite the pace and I felt a huge difference between the leisurely run before and final sprint.
I had to recenter my mind at breakneck pace and remember how to safely dismount, microseconds away from an abrupt stop into the gate beyond the finish line. Looking back at the video, it looks like I knew exactly what I was doing and had a very smooth, successful dismount. My mind was anything but.
Having won first place, all due to the other riders falling off, and not though my own skill or ostriches speed, I was surprised by having to give a short talk to the crowd. I suddenly realized I had no idea what I was blathering about and ended whatever I just said and walked away. Slightly cringey. So much for rehearsed speeches and quips.
I recall initially being very nervous around the ostriches when they roamed around their corral. They were inquisitive, with serrated knives for breaks. I was warned they could easily remove a finger or injure if you got too close. I kept my distance.
In the chute, up close and personal with one, I felt all of my fear disappate. We both knew we had a role to play, something to do, and in this moment, I didn’t worry about the ostrich coming for a finger with dangerous curiosity. I jumped on to mount and let addrenaline wash over me.
The Fast Camel
“Michael!” I turned my head, trying to figure out why I was being called.
“Do you want to get on a really fast camel?” “YES!” “OK, get in here now!”
I quickly put my camera back in the bag, and asked the closest jockey to hold it for me, then ran over to the waiting area to get on the back of a camel. I was to race one of the fastest camels, against their pros who really knew how to ride.
I realized I had a few more moments, and found my trusty friend Janice to hold my phone and record video of the final race.
I got into the shute and onto the camel I was assigned to. The other two camel jockeys had their camels in great positioning and seemed as calm as was relative to the situation. I was on yet another camel prancing around and slamming me into the wall, ready to go. I yelled the YES! confirmation I was good and ready to race, leg quickly going numb from the metal gates.
I glanced over at the other two jockeys and noted their hands had a much firmer grip on the front ring and fur of the hump. I had been thinking about the first camel I rode and switched my positioning to match theirs. I think that what saved me from flying off the camel.
The horn sounded and we were off. My camel quickly took the lead and left the other two jockeys in the dust by a long shot. We went wide around the bend, and I could feel my body being slammed into the camel with each jaunt. This strangely gaited animal flew across the track, leaning into the curve and I leaned with it.
I don’t know how I did it, but initial instructions, over and over, were to not let your feet go behind you. I completely forgot about this aspect while we were racing, and in watching the video footage, luckily my legs stayed mostly in the right spot, which prevented me from sliding up onto the hump. In leaning forward, I was pushing myself back from being ejected with each stride.
My camel raced at breakneck speed, beating out the other jockeys by an incredible longshot.
The Hype
Considering I was probably the least experienced of being around wild animals, rodeos, and racing, It think I did damn good. Hearing “I broke horse” and “I lived on a ranch for 14 years” and things like that was a bit intimidating.
After the races, receiving so many fist bumps and hand shakes and shoulder pats, along with great jobs and you are an animal, and other such compliments, I started to forget I had no idea what I was doing.
Getting recognized in town and being handed drinks was fun. Being shouted at was great.
I think my favorite hype of it all was the first camel I raced. When it went the wrong way and escaped the handlers, it ran by the VIP section of the crowd, and I got them all to cheer for me. That feeling and roar. Wow.
In my time in Virginia City, I ended up being recognized by many locals. Peter, owner of Firehouse Saloon and Jim, owner of Delta, along with other folks from my hotel and bars said they’d look for me and cheer loudly. I found the support to be both exciting and endearing.
I’m still riding high, as high as a camel stands, on this whole feeling of the race. Did I really just do all this? Yup! And I did really, really well. I rolled with the punches, took on the chaotic nature of the race, and embraced it all.
Janice offered me a few feathers from the ground, fallen during ostrich racing. I noticed she and other jockeys presented ostrich riders with feathers from their own ostriches. She said I could wash them with shampoo to get the poop off. I had no intention of removing such delicacies.
Post Race Soreness
The excitement of the race kept me feeling energized and full of vigor. As soon as I got back into town, I could feel my body start to fade, muscles and bones began to feel sore and aches I hadn’t felt before. It was deep and intense. I had been invited to return the next day and race again, and I don’t think I could have put on a good show, or possibly injured myself further than I already had.
My elbow and left arm and shoulder all hurt to move around. I think that happened with the last camel and the speed. My tailbone and ass were pretty sore, which was most likely a combination of everything. My thighs were tight, calves feeling it. That probably came from the ostrich
My core? Not too shabby! Thanks a lot paddle boarding! I think thats the only part of my body not in pain. That and my head. I can’t imagine how the people who fell, as well as did multiple races must feel.
That night, I had a lot of trouble sleeping, as I was woken up multiple times by pain and soreness in different spots, despite taking ibuprofen before bed.
In spite of all this, I woke up the next morning incredibly excited. If I was still in town and signed up for races, I think the enthusiasm would have held my body together a bit longer.Maybe not that elbow and arm of mine though.
Four days later, I am finally feeling like I can move without limping. I’m ready to race again.
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I strive to paint vivid landscapes with my words, bringing the magic of far-off lands and enchanting aromas to life for my readers. Combine passion for exploration and the art of gastronomy in an unending ode to the senses. When I’m not traversing the globe, I find solace in the earth beneath my fingertips, tending to my garden and working on projects around my verdant oasis. MK Library serves as a beacon, guiding fellow travelers and homebodies alike to embrace sustainability, nurturing both our planet and our souls with purpose. Full Bio.
