[2] It is the country's oldest and biggest race course founded on a former grassland that was historically a farm belonging to Şeyhülislam Veliyyüddin Efendi, an 18th-century superior authority of Islam in the Ottoman Empire.

[3] The race course was constructed in the years 1912/13 by German specialists upon the initiative of Enver Pasha.

The complex comprises offices, a museum, an exhibition hall, a racehorse hospital, an apprentice training center as well as social and recreational facilities.

The bettors protested against a possible swindle by the referees and the racehorse owners, and demanded a rerun.

[12] In 2008, the track held its first-ever farewell ceremony for a racehorse, honoring Ribella, a popular mare.