Pictures: Thailand's annual buffalo racing festival

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Jockey riding buffalo
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A buffalo racing festival is held every year in Bangkok, Thailand. It all started over a hundred years ago when there were two men arguing about whose buffalo was the fastest. They ended up having a race and that's how it became a tradition.

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The track is just over 100m long and competitors can get up to some really fast speeds. The buffalo have been trained to race all their lives, instead of working with farmers in the fields.

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The jockey rides without a saddle across the water buffalo's rump. This means the jockeys sometimes fall off once the buffalo reaches top speed. It's pretty dangerous stuff!

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Thousands of people come to the festival, which takes place in Thailand's central Chonburi province at the end of the three-month Buddhist Lent.

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The day's events, which also includes a buffalo beauty pageant, a Miss Farmer beauty contest and a comic buffalo costume contest, are a lot of fun. Here is one boy sitting on a water buffalo during a parade before the start of the festival.

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Buffalos often kick their hoofs in the dirt at the starting line or buck their riders before they reach the finish. There is a cash prize for the winner of the race, with second place winning some farm equipment.