Thundering across a berm racetrack, camels hurtle their 8 year-old jockeys toward the finish line while Omanis in pick-up trucks follow alongside. Though gambling is forbidden in this Muslim country, prize money goes to the owner of the winning camel whose value could be as much as 50,000 rials, or US$130,000.

(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Oman," May 1995, National Geographic magazine)