That's not a horserace...

Photos - It must have been the full moon, Erith and Marcus in the Campo, definitely not the Chiocciola entrant, the drummers in the now near-abandoned Campo.

Erith says:

Last night we went for a gelato at the Campo and we saw a practice run for the horse race on Monday. You could cram 70,000 people into a tiny space including the horses and the race track. The Snails (which is a team name) horse had a torn muscle so it couldn't run. We took a few photos but the camera battery was almost dead. There was lots of rubbish left over after the people had gone.

Marcus says:

Last night after a very nice stir-fry dinner we decided we needed a supplementary gelato. Erith and I hadn't made it to the Piazza del Campo due to the crowds earlier and Cel said that the best gelato in town was there, so at about 7:00 pm we set off on the 10 minute walk down. The streets were all but abandoned which we attributed to it being dinner time, but as we neared the Campo it started getting busier. We got within eyesight and realised that it was packed full of people - the practice run was on. We got there just as they were opening the gates after the run, so we could cross the track and get into the centre of the piazza.

We entered at the corner occupied by the contrada (city ward) of the Chiocciola (Snail) and it was obvious that something had gone badly for them, as there were a number of people from all walks of life openly crying. The horses from the other contrade were being paraded around by the contrada members all dressed in their colours, but Chiocciola stayed in their corner until most of the crowds had cleared, then assembled their drummers and flagbearers and held what could best be described as a funeral procession around the Campo, followed by the Siena marching band and several hundred other well-wishers. Apparently their horse had pulled up with a torn muscle in it's leg during the practice run and as no replacement can be made, it was all over but the crying, and there were plenty of people doing just that.

It's hard to imagine how it could be that important to that many people, but it is. It's a real contrast to the Melbourne Cup, where nobody really cares about which horses are in or out (except the owners) - most people just worry about the impact of a scratching on their bets. Apparently you can't join a contrada - you have to be born into it, so I guess it's a pretty big part of their lives.

It's tempting to stick around until Monday for the race, but I don't think we will. The chances of even seeing the race (which will last for about 90 seconds) are slim and I doubt that the crowds will make it worth it.