Mayhem in the Mediterranean as the Maltese obsession with horses lives on – for now

It’s a question that would stump the most learned of pub-quiz enthusiasts: what is the most popular spectator sport in Malta?

The answer is horseracing. Yes, football raises the pulse of the 570,000 inhabitants of this island located 60 miles south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, but racing draws the crowds.

It was introduced by the Knights of St John on their arrival in the 16th century and has evolved into a sport staging 60 meetings each year at the Malta Equidrome and half as many at Ta’ Xhajma racecourse in Gozo, the second biggest of the Maltese islands.