Watch Now: Unbelievable Victory as Contestant Claims First Place in Historic Italian Race from Start to Finish!

Benitos, a 7-year-old gelding sporting the orange and black colours of the Lupa district, took an early lead in the first few paces of the race and maintained this position throughout all three laps in the Piazza del Campo, thus emerging as the winner of the rain-delayed Palio di Siena on Saturday. This medieval, bareback horse race is held twice every summer in Tuscany, Italy.

The jockey, Dino Pes, who goes by the name Velluto in competitions, emerged victorious for the first time in this intense race, which is held on a makeshift clay track in a town square packed with approximately 40,000 spectators. It was also the first time for Benitos to participate in the Palio, a race that spans about five furlongs.

The race took 45 minutes to commence, which is not uncommon as the ten horses and their riders often find it difficult to take their designated positions between the ropes at the start. Starting from what could be likened to post 4, Pes nudged Benitos into an early lead, and the race was virtually a single file from start to finish.

In his seventh Palio, Pes kept glancing over his right shoulder during the last half of the final lap around the trapezoid-shaped piazza, which consists of two 90-degree clockwise turns separated by a gradual arc around the northwest perimeter. The Selva entry trailed throughout the race, finishing three lengths behind in second place, which is considered more disgraceful than coming last.

Upon realizing his impending victory, Pes triumphantly raised his crop as fans began to flood onto the course in anticipation of the traditional cannon shot that marked the end of the 74-second race.

The Lupa district, also known as she-wolf, is a northern Siena district that celebrated its first win in six years in this race that honours ancient religious rites on July 2 and August 16 every year. Both of this year’s Palio races were postponed due to rain. The ten entrants are chosen through a draw to determine which seven out of Siena’s 17 districts will not participate. Those left out are guaranteed a spot in the subsequent race.

The jockeys in the Palio ride bareback with only bridles, reins and crops as their tack. They don the colours of their districts and resemble 18th-century cavalrymen. Despite the physical intensity of the race, the only explicit rules forbid riders from attacking each other.

Saturday’s race was one of the cleanest runnings of the Palio in recent history, with no riders dismounted during the race and all horses appearing healthy at the end. Over 50 horses have reportedly died in the more than 100 Palio races since 1970, which has made this timeless event a regular point of criticism for animal-rights activists, while also being a significant part of Siena’s rich history, endorsed by UNESCO.

Pes, 43, hails from Sardinia, an island in the Mediterranean off the southern coast of mainland Italy. His hometown Silanus’s local government expressed their pride on their website, stating, “In Siena today, the remarkable Dino Pes won the Palio of August 2024. Thank you for the beautiful emotions. All of Silanus is celebrating.”

Reportedly, a wedding ceremony in Silanus was paused to watch the broadcast of the race, which has been a modern tradition since 1633.