Animals in sport

[1] Racing events are a common way to gamble, with billions[clarification needed] spent worldwide every year.

Elephant polo dates back to the early 20th century when members of the British aristocracy in Nepal began playing the sport.

[4] Not all animals are large, however, with cricket fighting being a popular sport in Macau and Hong Kong, although gambling on it is now against the law.

The domestication of animals and the development of agriculture lessened the need for hunts, with food being more readily available.

In most parts of medieval Europe, the upper-class (aristocracy and higher clergy) obtained as privilege the sole rights to hunt in certain areas of a feudal territory.

Dangerous hunting, as for lions or wild boars, usually on horseback (or from a chariot, as in Pharaonic Egypt and Mesopotamia) also had function similar to tournaments and manly sports: an honourable, somewhat competitive pastime to help the aristocracy practice skills of war in times of peace.

In ancient Rome the "Venatio" was a form of entertainment that pitted humans against animals in an amphitheater.

In modern times, hunting is usually legal as long as the hunter has a license, though there are some unregulated forms in some countries.

There is a variety of horse riding sports in this category, including show jumping and dressage, both of which are featured at the Olympic Games.

At lower levels, horse shows offer a wide variety of competition both riding and driving as well as In-hand classes that evaluate equine conformation.

of the famous American horse of the same name, while MVP: Most Valuable Primate, a film about a hockey-playing chimpanzee, is unrealistic.

[10] Similarly, several television commercials used the Budweiser Clydesdales and other animals in live-action and CGA roles to appear to be playing American football.

Beast is an American television show that pitches humans against animals in a variety of unusual challenges,[15][16] including competitive eating between world champion Takeru Kobayashi and a brown bear.