High-Stakes Camel Cup Ignites Marree, Australian Outback

MARREE, Australia: Camels with a competitive spirit raced in a remote Australian outback town this weekend, marking the annual Marree Camel Cup that celebrates the desert animals first introduced to the continent in the mid‑19th century. Hundreds of spectators gathered in Marree—a town of 65 residents located about 600 kilometers north of Adelaide—for a day of 13 races on Saturday. Over 10,000 camels were imported to Australia from 1840 onward, many of which were released into the wild as railways and later motor vehicles replaced their use. Today the wild camel population is estimated at between 300,000 and one million animals. Trainer Kyrraley Woodhouse, who has been racing camels professionally since 2013, explained that most of her entrants were captured from the wild for the event, which attracted more than a dozen competitors. Selecting the right animal is crucial. “You want a bit of spirit, a spark in their eye—a lively but not overly aggressive temperament,” Woodhouse told Agence France‑Presse. “They should be wary yet willing to run, much like a racehorse—high‑strung and driven.” The 2026 Marree Camel Cup champion was Young Gun, ridden by Patrick Dennis. Afghan and other Central and South Asian cameleers were brought to Australia in the 1860s to work as transport operators in the arid interior; some of their descendants still live in Marree. Camels now compete with livestock for forage, damage fencing, pollute water sources and threaten Indigenous cultural sites, according to authorities. Without control, camel numbers can double roughly every eight years, prompting South Australia’s primary industries department to manage the herd through mustering, shooting and trapping at water points. The state also exports a modest number of live camels; 68 have been shipped this year to Malaysia and Indonesia.

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