Turtle racing - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Turtle racing is a popular event in which participants typically place turtles in the center of a circle and watch them walk around until one of them crosses out of the circle. Initially popularized as an event geared toward children at county fair

County Fair

"County Fair" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was originally released as the second track on their 1962 album Surfin' Safari. On November 26th of that year, it was released as the B-side to The Beach Boys' third single, "Ten Little...

s and picnics in the Central United States, it has since grown in scope and popularity and other variations of the event have been held.

Versions

Several variations of turtle racing exist. While turtle racing typically takes place on land, turtle races have occasionally occurred in pools as well. Some races begin with the turtles racing from a starting location and end when they reach a designated finish line. Outdoor races occasionally start the turtles in a sunny spot near a shaded area and the turtles by nature race into the shade. Other races begin with the turtles all being placed in the center of a large circle, the first to pass outside of the circle is deemed the winner. In some cases, a large lid is placed on top of the turtles before the race and the race begins when the lid is lifted off of them. The turtles are often distinguished by numbers painted or taped on their shells.

Some other events use floating artificial turtles in place of animals. The artificial turtles are floated from a starting point downstream or down a set of stairs to a finishing point.

In 1950 a patent was granted to Ambrose Groh of Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

for his turtle racetrack. Groh attempted to create a track that would allow a number of spectators to watch the race and would cause the turtles to start moving at the same time.

Venues
Turtle races often occur at fairs and local celebrations. For example, Turtle races are a prominent part of the annual Turtle Days festival held in Churubusco, Indiana

Churubusco, Indiana

Churubusco ; often shortened to Busco ), is a town located near the headwaters of the Eel River in the extreme northeast corner of Whitley County, Indiana, United States, in Smith Township, about northwest of Fort Wayne...

, in honor of the Beast of Busco

Beast of Busco

The Beast of Busco is the subject of a legend in Churubusco, Indiana about an enormous snapping turtle named Oscar which citizens claimed to have seen in 1949...

. In Lepanto, Arkansas

Lepanto, Arkansas

Lepanto is a city in Poinsett County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,133 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Jonesboro, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area...

the races are accompanied by beauty pageants that crown the "Turtle Derby Queen". They are also often used as fundraisers for organizations including aquarium

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

s, Catholic parishes

Parish (Catholic Church)

In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...

, and student groups. Turtle racing also now commonly occurs at bars, where the races sometimes take place on shuffleboard tables

Table Shuffleboard

Table shuffleboard is a game in which players push metal-and-plastic weighted pucks down a long and smooth wooden table into a scoring area at the opposite end of the table...

.

Speed

Several estimates have been given for the average speed of a racing turtle. S.N. Castle, an early turtle racer, said that his turtles could travel 100 yard in four hours. In 1930, organizers of a large turtle race in Pittsburgh said that their turtles could reach speeds of up to 12 inches (30.5 cm) per 30 seconds. A later proponent of turtle racing once claimed that the fastest turtles he raced traveled up to 0.25 mile per hour, though he only raced them over short distances. At the 1974 Canadian Turtle Derby, the champion turtle raced from the center of a 25 feet (7.6 m) circle to its edge in thirty nine seconds.

The size of a turtle is not necessarily an indicator of how fast the turtle will race. Some turtle racers have been surprised at the speed that of smaller turtles exhibit.

History

Turtle racing initially became a popular pastime in The Bahamas

The Bahamas

The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...

in the early 20th century. The earliest known turtle race to occur in the United States took place in Chicago in 1902. Dubbed "The Strangest Race Ever Run" by the Chicago Daily Tribune, seven turtles raced across a lawn while being ridden by small children. Although spectators attempted to lure them toward a finish line with cabbages, they were not able to coax the turtles to move in a straight line. A turtle race that took place in 1911 gained notoriety due to the participation of several celebrities, including playwright George Ade

George Ade

George Ade was an American writer, newspaper columnist, and playwright.-Biography:Ade was born in Kentland, Indiana, one of seven children raised by John and Adaline Ade. While attending Purdue University, he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity...

and former Massachusetts Governor Ebenezer Sumner Draper

Ebenezer Sumner Draper

Ebenezer Sumner Draper was a U.S. political figure. He served as the 44th Governor of Massachusetts between 1909 and 1911. Like Curtis Guild, Jr., Eben Draper was forged by his family's business. His father, George Draper had been part of a Christian Socialist community, which ended in bankruptcy...

, who organized a race between two large turtles while passengers on a Caribbean cruise. The next early turtle race to occur in the United States took place in Miami Beach in 1921. This event saw Loggerhead sea turtle

Loggerhead sea turtle

The loggerhead sea turtle , or loggerhead, is an oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around long when fully grown, although larger specimens of up to have been discovered...

s racing in a pool. Another early American turtle race was started in the 1920s at the 101 Ranch

Miller Brothers 101 Ranch

The Miller Brothers 101 Ranch was an cattle ranch in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma before statehood. Located near modern-day Ponca City, it was founded by Colonel George Washington Miller, a veteran of the Confederate Army, in 1893. The 101 Ranch was the birthplace of the 101 Ranch Wild West...

in Kay County, Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

and was held annually until it stopped in 1931 due to the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

. In 1928, turtle racing was introduced to Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

by a man who brought thirty two "racing turtles" there from San Francisco.

Turtle racing has since became popular in Canada. Boissevain, Manitoba

Boissevain, Manitoba

Boissevain is a town in Manitoba near the North Dakota border. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Morton. It is notable for its proximity to the International Peace Garden, a short drive south on Highway 10. The town also displays a number of wall murals as a tourist attraction...

, located near Turtle Mountain

Turtle Mountain (plateau)

Turtle Mountain, or the Turtle Mountains, is an area in central North America, in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of North Dakota and southwestern portion of the Canadian province of Manitoba...

, began hosting the Canadian Turtle Derby in 1972. The Canadian Turtle Derby was initially a private race among several local turtle owners. It soon grew in popularity and began to feature parimutuel betting. Molson

Molson

Molson-Coors Canada Inc. is the Canadian division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. It is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson's Bay Company. Molson's first brewery was located on the St...

donated an electric starting gate to the event, which they claimed was the first electric starting gate to be used in a turtle race. Although there were just 83 turtles in the 1972 event, the field swelled to 447 turtles by 1983. The race takes place in a 15 metres (49.2 ft) circle. Other festivals around Canada host races in which the top turtles qualify to represent their city in the Canadian Turtle Derby. Boissevain is now host to a turtle racing hall of fame and a large statue of a racing turtle. Initially crowning the Canadian Champion Turtle at the event, in 1974 they invited a top American turtle to the event to race the Canadian winner. Several thousand people attended the final race in the competition. Although the race was initially close, the Canadian turtle was victorious after the American turtle fell asleep halfway through the race.

Turtle racing has also been popular among the British, as well. Members of the British army held turtle races on the foothills of Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...

while stationed there after World War II. In the 1970s, a British organization known as the New World International Turtle Track Commission began hosting a world championship event. The 1974 event saw attendees from nine countries bring over two hundred turtles to the competition. The championship was rocked by a scandal, however, after it was discovered that one turtle had wheels from a toy car taped to its shell. The organizer of the event later lamented that this scandal occurred just as "Turtle racing stood on the verge of being a mass sport.

In 2007 Conservation International

Conservation International

Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...

organized what they billed as the "Great Turtle Race". In order to raise awareness for the plight of the endangered leatherback turtle. They tagged several turtles in Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

with satellite tracking tag before the turtles began their annual migration to the Galapagos Islands

Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...

. The first turtle to arrive at the islands was deemed the winner. Celebrity sponsors, including Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...

, paid a $25,000 donation to conservation organizations for the right to sponsor a turtle. Swimming at approximately 4 mile per hour, they completed the 500 miles (804.7 km) course in two weeks. In 2009 National Geographic and Conservation International held the race again, tracking turtles migrating from Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

to the Caribbean.
The Minnesota Legislature

Minnesota Legislature

The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...

has declared Longville, Minnesota

Longville, Minnesota

Longville is a city in Cass County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 156 at the 2010 census. The city was named after its founder Jim Long. The town is roughly 4 hours north of the Twin Cities. It is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area...

the "Turtle Racing Capital of the World". They conferred this honor on Longville because it has held turtle races on its Main Street each summer since the nineteen fifties. The title has not gained international recognition, however.

Regulation

Many turtle races use wild turtles that are caught for use in the events, although this practice is illegal in some jurisdictions. Some turtle races use specialized netting to trap turtles. Although turtle trapping is illegal in Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

, several turtle races have been granted permission to trap turtles by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is a public agency of the government of the State of Nebraska in the United States. The commission is charged with stewardship of the state's fish, wildlife, state park, and outdoor recreation resources. The commission is also charged with issuing of state...

under the condition that the turtles be returned to the ponds in which they were caught after the races are complete.

Gambling

Turtle racing may also be illegal if bets are collected due to gambling regulations. In the United States, arrests have been made due to illegal gambling at turtle races almost as long as turtle racing has existed there. In 1930, members of the Boston Police Department

Boston Police Department

The Boston Police Department , created in 1838, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest police departments in the United States...

raided a turtle race at which spectators paid a fee to sponsor a turtle and won a box of candy if their turtle was victorious. The police confiscated the turtles and candy and the organizer of the race was fined $60. The turtles were returned to him however, due to the lack of a proper police facility to store them.

At a turtle racing event in Ailsa Craig, Ontario in 1984, two organizers were arrested for "selling tickets on games of chance". Charges were dismissed on a technicality after a five day trial. Organizers attempted to gain permission from the government of Ontario to allow gambling at the race, but were unsuccessful due to their use of parimutuel betting

Parimutuel betting

Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...

Danger

Although it is generally a safe event, turtles on occasion can pose a danger to spectators. On one occasion, a turtle bit a woman who had given it a kiss to celebrate its victory in a race. Paramedics responded and injected the turtle with Valium after the turtle refused to let go of the woman's lip. The injection did not seriously injure the turtle, who soon returned to racing.

Some turtle racers have attempted to cause turtles to move more quickly by subjecting them to electric shocks. This poses a danger to spectators who may be accidentally electrocuted.

Controversy

Turtle racing has garnered controversy at times due to the treatment of turtles and the gambling that occurs at many races. The annual turtle races at the Gala Days in the Canadian village of Ailsa Craig have drawn particular scrutiny. After news of the annual turtle race was popularized in 2010, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario)

The Ministry of Natural Resources is a government ministry of the Canadian province of Ontario that responsible for Ontario’s provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates and the Crown lands and waters that make up 87 per cent of the province...

told the organizers to cancel the event. Ministry officials intervened due to wild turtles being caught in a nearby river in order to be used in the race, threating to fine anyone who entered a wild animal in the race. A ministry spokesperson cited the danger of spreading disease and disrupting the ecosystem by catching wild turtles and then putting them back. The spokesperson also cited the stress that the race caused the turtles. The event later proceeded as planned after turtles were rented from a nearby pet store for use in the race. Many residents had been catching turtles for weeks in order to enter them in the race, and area residents had to release over one hundred turtles.

In 1987 the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a law enforcement agency in the state of New Jersey that focuses on humane law enforcement...

issued court summonses regarding what they described as turtle abuse at turtle races at a restaurant in Plainfield, New Jersey

Plainfield, New Jersey

Plainfield is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population increased to a record high of 49,808....

. Although a judge ordered the races to be stopped, an investigation found that no abuse had occurred and the judge's order was rescinded.

Animal rights activists have described the sport as "cruelty

Cruelty to animals

Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with...

" to turtles. The Market Days festival in Concord, New Hampshire

Concord, New Hampshire

The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....

cancelled its turtle racing event after it received complaints that the sport was a form of cruelty to animals. Archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

Daniel Edward Pilarczyk

Daniel Edward Pilarczyk is an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Cincinnati from 1982 to 2009.-Early life and education:...

has also opined against turtle racing, stating that the practice does not "mirror the compassion of Jesus".

PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...

has endorsed rubber duck racing as a cruelty-free

Cruelty-free

Cruelty-free is a social movement that seeks to avoid all products of cruelty. The term cruelty-free was first used in this way by Lady Dowding who persuaded manufacturers of fake furs to use the label Beauty Without Cruelty and went on to found the charity Beauty Without Cruelty in 1959...