Video: Sanna stays on his horse to win wild Palio di Siena

For the second time in a row, Carlo Sanna rode the winner of the Palio di Siena. This time, he stayed on the horse all the way to the finish of this medieval version of an equine demolition derby.

Sanna guided 12-year-old gelding Tabacco to the lead near the end of the first lap and ran on to a 1 1/2-length victory Thursday in the ancient, bareback race that goes three times around the cramped Piazza del Campo, the trapezoid-shaped square in central Siena.

Only four of the starters in the roughly one-mile race that takes about 1 1/2 minutes appeared to finish it. Spills that dismount riders are commonplace and for years have spurred protests by animal-rights activists. All 10 participating horses were reported by the city government to have returned to their neighborhood stables, although their conditions were not detailed.

Sanna, 35, who goes by the nickname Brigand, and Tabacco, who had been 0-for-6 in previous runnings of the Palio, raced for the Onda district that is represented by blue and white colors emblematic of a wave. Onda is one of Siena’s 17 contrade, the wards that rotate into the 10-horse race that is run twice every summer.

The early leader was Oca, the goose district represented by 11-time-winning jockey Giovanni Atzeni, also known as Tittia. Riding 10-year-old Veranu, Atzeni was passed when Sanna and Tabacco cut inside of him as they made the last of the four turns before the end of the first lap.

The rest of the way, Sanna kept looking over his shoulder to see Atzeni and Veranu lurking, but the lead did not change hands again. Veranu finished second, which is considered more shameful in Palio culture than finishing last.

It was the third time in 16 tries that Sanna was credited with winning the race. That included last August, when he was dismounted from Zio Frac with a half-lap remaining in the second 2023 Palio. Zio Frac crossed the finish line first, and that was all that mattered since riders need not be present on horseback to win.

The Palio endures as a holdover from the Middle Ages with its modern era beginning in 1633. It normally is held every July 2 and Aug. 16, but the first running this year was postponed twice because of rain that would have made the temporary clay racing surface even more dangerous than it already was.

Thursday’s race came after two false starts. The starter Bartolo Ambrosione told Siena broadcasters he should have let the first attempt go forward. Replays appeared to show the field did not leave early from between the retaining ropes that are used during the queueing of the horses, but Ambrosione already had made his decision, so two more lineups taking about a half-hour were required.

Jockeys ride bareback in the Palio with their only tack being bridles, reins and whips. They wear the colors of their wards and look like 18th-century cavalrymen. As physical as the race can be, the only real rules prohibit riders from attacking one another.

More than 50 horses reportedly have died in the more than 100 runnings of the Palio since 1970, making the timeless event a frequent target of animal-rights activists while also being written into Siena’s rich, UNESCO-endorsed history.

As usual, the Palio course was jammed with about 40,000 spectators, most of them in the makeshift infield. Those on the perimeter of the course have been known to pay thousands of dollars for their vantage points in hotels, restaurants, shops and the Siena city hall. Others who paid far less crammed themselves for hours into the unshaded center of the square, where the views were not as favorable and the 88-degree weather felt that much hotter.

Even before the race was finished, fans streamed onto the course and surrounded the winner in celebration of this rite of the Tuscan summer that will be repeated in seven weeks.