The audience was excited and could not stop clapping and chanting.

Everybody fixed their eyes on the green boxes waiting for the signal that would kick off the race.

The anticipation was so intense that it was hard to sit still.

When the race started, the thousands of people standing on their feet knew they were witnessing history.

Gazi Koşusu, which is known as the Derby of Turkish Thoroughbred Racing and have been run in memory of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk nonstop since 1927 is  held with the participation of 20 colts and 2 fillies.at the Veliefendi Hippodrome in Bakırköy, Istanbul.

Every Summer , is a festivity that Istanbulites and horse lovers from all over Turkey participate in with their families to enjoy a sunny Sunday.

The Gazi Race was established in 1927 in honor of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey.

The race is open to the most successful horses of the season -three-year-old thoroughbreds born in Turkey.

The very first Gazi Race was restricted to British-bred horses and the winner was a horse named Neriman owned by a famous candy producer at the time. In 1968, the race was moved from Ankara to Istanbul and has been held at Veliefendi ever since.

For the last couple of years, people going in and out from the Veliefendi Hippodrome with their families enjoying themselves.

The Veliefendi Hippodrome in Bakırköy covers an enormous area and features a race track events area and a large picnic area.

The Gazi Race is mostly an excuse for families to have a picnic on a nice Sunday while watching some of the best-bred horses in Turkey.

As always, thousands of racing fans, members of the horse racing society, politicians, state officials, prominent figures in sport, business and art will be at Veliefendi Racecourse for the country’s greatest horse race.