Virginia City International Camel Races

WHEN: Friday through Sunday. Races are at 1 p.m. each day.

WHERE: Camel Race Arena on F Street, Virginia City

Today: Features the Media Races, where members of local and out-of-town media will race against one another.

Friday evening is the Camel Hump Ball and silent auction at the Kitty's Long Branch Saloon on C St. Proceeds from the auction benefit the Eagle Valley Children's Home.

Saturday: Festivities will begin at noon with the Grand Parade down C Street, featuring the camels, many floats and marchers, hot rods, llamas, and the Equestrian Teams.

Sunday: Race championships will be held.

COST: General Admission for the races is $10; VIP tickets are $35; Family Pack is $25; Junior/Senior/Military $8.

The first camel races were devised in 1866 by sportsmen and miners, who used the dromedaries to transport salt to the Comstock mills.

How many other races were run is not documented, but they definitely did not extend past 1875, when camels were outlawed by the Nevada State Legislature because they scared horses.

The idea was reborn in 1959, when The Territorial Enterprise editor Bob Richards wrote a spoof of the races.

He published the results of a fictional camel race and, while locals took it tongue-in-cheek, the wire services picked it up, and the story went nationwide.

The following year, Richards was challenged by the San Francisco Chronicle, who had taken his article seriously.

As legend has it, they leased camels from the San Francisco Zoo then raced down C Street.

The event gained immediate notoriety because Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, who were nearby filming "The Misfits," joined director John Huston for a day at the races.

Since then, it has become an annual event, with the international championships being held every other year, alternating with Alice Springs, Australia.