“Horse racing was considered the Formula 1 of antiquity, a great popular festival,” says historian Bart Gielen. “In Rome you had the famous Circus Maximus, a gigantic racecourse in which 4 teams competed against each other. Each team had its own color. You had the red, white, green and blue team.” The colors were reflected in the flags that supporters took into the arena. Horse races were also held in Constantinople, now Istanbul. “That happened in a gigantic arena for a hundred thousand people.”
Historian Bart Gielen about fan violence at sports matches: ‘Timeless’
