GO THINH HORSE RACING FESTIVAL

Horse racing festival in Phu Yen As usual, on the morning of January 9, in the Go Thi Thung Tunnel base area in An Xuan highland commune, Tuy An district, Phu Yen province, the sound of horse hooves echoed loudly amid the cheers of thousands of spectators. What is especially attractive about this horse racing festival is that the riders are none other than farmers who have their hands dirty all year round, and the riders are horses that carry people's daily goods and agricultural products. Go Thi Thung tunnel is located on a hill area of ​​hundreds of hectares at an altitude of 440m above sea level. During the resistance war, this was a solid revolutionary base for the army and people of Phu Yen, leading major battles with resounding victories in the 1966 dry season campaign. From early morning, in this revolutionary base area, when the spring dew was still shimmering on the young grass, spreading across the mountainous roads, people in the area called each other to the Go Thi Thung horse racing festival. At the same time, on the roads leading to the highland commune of An Xuan, streams of people and vehicles lined up excitedly flocking to the racetrack like a festival. This is one of two traditional horse racing festivals still preserved today in Vietnam. At exactly 9 o'clock, the opening drum sounded, 32 racing horses began to dance, dust flew. The riders from the communes and towns of Tuy An district crouched on horseback, galloping along with the urging cheers. Go Thi Thung horse racing festival dates back to the French period and has become a cultural and sports activity loved by people. Before entering the racetrack, horses carry goods and agricultural products of the people in the area. And the riders are young men and old farmers who get their hands dirty all year round, not professional riders. During the years of resistance, the An Xuan area became a revolutionary base, so the horse racing association could not be maintained because most of the horses were involved in transporting rice and salt to the base area to feed the soldiers. After the country was completely liberated, horses continued to stick with the mountain people in carrying agricultural products from the fields to home and to the market. This year, over 60 years old, having participated in 10 races at the Go Thi Thung horse racing festival, horseman Nguyen Huu Chi, An Hiep commune, Tuy An district, said: "In the past, horses were used by my ancestors to load bullets to the Central Highlands and carry goods and agricultural products. As the commander of the racing team of An Hiep commune, I am very excited to compete in Go Thi Thung An Xuan this year. The audience cheered enthusiastically, so the race was extremely attractive." A good thing for people and businesses is that in this new year, the People's Committee of Phu Yen province has signed an investment policy to implement the Horse Race Course project by Golden Turf Club Pty Company. Ltd is an investor in the Bai Sung area, An My commune, Tuy An district, with a ground area of ​​about 82 hectares and 13 hectares of water surface, with a total investment capital of 100 million USD. The project is implemented in accordance with Decree 06/2017/ND-CP dated January 24, 2017 of the Government, regulating business, managing business activities and sanctioning administrative violations in the business of betting on horse racing, betting on greyhound racing and piloting international soccer betting in the territory of Vietnam.