Run boy run

Alessio Pellicoro

2020 - Ongoing

Taranto, Apulia, Italy

The world of horse racing in Italy has suffered a strong decline in recent years mainly caused by the lack of useful and necessary funds for its livelihood (once largely guaranteed by private funding). The races in the 80s and 90s were the fulcrum of popular entertainment in most of the South, the "Paolo VI" hippodrome (in the Taranto hinterland in Puglia) has maintained a considerable importance in the international equestrian scene: horses and stables of immense value come from all over the world to compete and foment fans during fairs and races.

Currently, horse racing pours into bad waters and it constantly tries to re-emerge even if the attention paid to it currently is not at all comparable to those that fed it so much in the years of its maximum splendor. This project aims to show the crumbs and the "behind the scenes" of a reality which is in danger of disappearing but however stands on the verge of oblivion thanks to the love and passion handed down from generation to generation towards this sport which, more than a sport, represents a lifestyle.

The blood, the sweat, the dust in the eyes, animal and man dedicated to each other that merge becoming inseparable with a single goal ... winning.

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  • Paolo VI's hippodrome, Taranto, Italy.

  • Former office of the founder Mr. Donato Carelli.

  • Detail.

  • A funny and "realistic" statue.

  • Stables of Paolo VI's hippodrome (Taranto, Italy).

  • Horse coat.

  • Training "sulky".

  • Morning shower.

  • Peek on one of the various stables in the hippodrome.

  • A just forged horseshoe.

  • A stable worker ready for the daily training session. Every horse trains about three to fours hours a day on the racetrack.

  • Daily check of the muscular and bones structure before the various competitions.

  • Identification numbers.

  • The horse's number on its back. It stands for his stable and to recognize it.

  • Injection of cardiac relaxation solution pre-race.

  • A particular detail of the horse's competition equipment.

  • A jockey ready for the race night.

  • A jockey entering the track on sulky.

  • Fotofinish.

  • A relaxing shower for a tired horse after the race.


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