Tbilisi Hippodrome

The Tbilisi Hippodrome is Georgia's principal horse racing venue, located in the capital city of Tbilisi in the South Caucasus. The hippodrome's foundations lie in the Soviet-era Georgia SSR racing programme — Tbilisi was one of the significant Soviet hippodrome cities, benefiting from Georgia's traditionally strong connection to horses through both the highland equestrian culture of the mountain peoples and the agricultural lowland tradition of the Kartvelian civilization. Georgia's relationship with the horse extends back to antiquity — the region was part of the ancient Silk Road horse trade network, and Colchian horses (bred in the Rioni valley lowlands of western Georgia, ancient Colchis) were prized in the ancient Mediterranean world. The Tbilisi Hippodrome developed as a formal racing venue during the Soviet period when standardbred harness racing was the dominant form across the USSR. Since Georgian independence (1991) and particularly since the economic stabilisation of the 2000s, the Georgian Equestrian Federation has been developing thoroughbred flat racing alongside the traditional harness programme. The track operates primarily on a dirt surface appropriate for the Tbilisi climate — the city's warm, semi-arid summers and cool winters provide a spring-autumn racing season similar to other Caucasian racing programmes. The Georgian Derby and the President's Cup Georgia are the national championship events, drawing the country's best thoroughbreds for the season's prestige races. Georgia's proximity to Turkey (with its more developed Veliefendi programme) and Azerbaijan (with a small programme) places it within the emerging Caucasus racing corridor.