(a bareback horse race) 

What is known and unargued to be the most ancient Palio is held in Asti every third Sunday of September. It is nearly a thousand years old.

The jockeys ride for various neighborhoods and are free to bribe one another, out in the open, before the contest begins. Betrayal is common. Guile is prized. There are no rules but one: A rider may not interfere with the reins of another horse. If a jockey is thwacked off his mount, his riderless horse can still win on its own. When the winning horse is declared, with or without its rider, he was given a banner of painted silk. In past years additional prizes were handed out… the runner-up was given a bag of silver coins, 3rd the spurs, 4th a live rooster. 5th place: a head of salad, 6th place: an onion, 7th place: an anchovy

Cosima Spender’s  2015 documentary, “Palio”. which is about the same type race in Siena