Goat Racer

The Goat racers are professional athletes driving the chariots in the sport of goat racing They often live conflicted lives, both worshipped by their fans and shunned by the higher-ups of the society.

Physical characteristics

Goat racers are required to be light to not slow down the goats, but also tall. Thus, most racers are young adults or teenagers. Good looks are often named as one of the most important assets of the racers, and especially the Greens have been accused of gathering fans more based on looks than sporting merits.

Female racers

Goat racing traces its origins in the war chariots of the Early Kingdom period, driven by male soldiers. Thus in the early eras women were not accepted into the races. However, once the tradition developed into a separate sport, the demand of tall but light body type began to strongly favour female racers. Women were first brought into the competition by the Greens, while it was strongly opposed by the Blues, who argued that the sport was far too dangerous for the women, and being in the center of the audiences gaze most inappropriate.

Social status

The public opinion of the goat racers is strongly polarised. The are near worshipped by the fans of the sport, but on the other hand participation such activity is viewed as only suitable for low social classes. The sport is quite dangerous, serious injuries occuring commonly in racing accidents, subjecting once's body to the fans' gaze is viewed as inappropriate.

Many of the racers come from lower class backgrounds, especially from families working in entertainment and animal care. However, many cases are known were the racing career has attracted youth from high status or even senatorial families, much to the disappointment and shock of their peers. While slaves are often used to train goats, they are not permitted to race in official games. However, some exeptionally talented slaves are known to have been freed in order for them to participate.

In Zeribian culture

According to Zeribian ritual purity law, all professions working closely with animals are considered rgaš, impure. Thus, racers expected to be are avoided and shunned by Zeribians, and any participation in the goat racing fan culture is looked down upon. Despite that, many wealthy Zeribians have gathered small fortunes in the goat race betting industry.

Career progression

Racers typically begin their career early in their youth. They would have typically learned to handle the goats already in childhood, and could seek to become apprentises of the racers in their early teenage years. The young racers can be trained officially by the teams, or by private trainers before applying to one of the teams. Racers are typically employed by their team, as well as a fraction of prize money and betting profits based on their performance. The contract typically also includes an insurance in the case of serious injury or death. The top performing racers can easily earn more than high trained professionals. The top racer of each team is known as the First Racer. They are the teams most valuable racer, only used in the most important races, and otherwise serving more as the symbolic leader of the team and advisor to the other racers. However, the typical racing career is short, leading to former racers to look for future income elsewhere. The former top racers often continue to be employed by the team, as coaches and advisors.