Pigeon racing

Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specialized, trained homing pigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time it takes the animal to cover the specified distance is measured, and the bird's rate of travel is calculated and compared with all of the other pigeons in the race to determine which animal returned at the highest speed.

Pigeon racing requires a specific breed of pigeon bred for the sport, the Racing Homer. Competing pigeons are specially trained and conditioned for races that vary in distance from approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) to 1,000 kilometres (620 mi). Despite these lengths, races can be won and lost by seconds, so many different timing and measuring devices have been developed. The traditional timing method involves rubber rings being placed into a specially designed clock, whereas a newer development uses RFID tags to record arrival time.

While there is no definite proof, there are compelling reasons to believe the sport of racing pigeons may go back at least as far as 220 AD. It is recorded in the Mishnah that pigeon racers are forbidden from bearing witness.^{[page needed]} The Sultan of Baghdad set up a pigeon post system in AD 1150, and Genghis Khan used pigeons to carry messages to aid his military intelligence. The sport achieved a great deal of popularity in Belgium in the mid-19th century. The pigeon fanciers of Belgium were so taken with the hobby that they began to develop pigeons specially cultivated for fast flight and long endurance called Voyageurs. From Belgium, the modern version of the sport and the Voyageurs which the Flemish fanciers developed spread to most parts of the world. Once quite popular, the sport has experienced a downturn in participants in some parts of the world in recent years, possibly due to the rising cost of living, aging fanciers, and a severe lack of public interest.

One recent development in the sport of pigeon racing is "one loft racing", where birds are raced against each other under the same training regimen, from the same location. The principle being to find the best individual race bird irrespective of the race trainer. This will determine which bird is the most successful.

The pigeon is the oldest domesticated bird.^{[citation needed]} The predecessors of modern-day racing pigeons were pigeons bred for their homing ability, primarily to carry messages. "Pigeon posts" have been established all over the world and while mainly used in the military, some are still in service today. Modern pigeon racing originated in Belgium in the mid-19th century. Racing pigeons were first developed in Belgium and England at the same time.^{[page needed]} They are the result of crossing of a number of other breeds, primarily the Smerle, French Cumulet, English Carrier, Dragoon, and the Horseman (now lost). From the high-flying Cumulet, the Homer received its endurance and its ability to fly for hours on end without tiring. From the Carrier, it inherited the ability to find its way home from great distances.^{[page needed]}

The sport was aided by several new technologies of the era. The advent of railways permitted pigeons to be sent to distant release points quickly and at modest cost. In addition, the creation of mass-produced, sophisticated timing clocks brought accurate and secure timing to the sport. These clocks were designed with special compartments where an entry band, removed from the returning bird, was placed. When struck, the clock recorded the time and also placed the band in a compartment that could only be opened by race officials.

Before electronic communications, such as the telegraph and telephone, Reuters, the world's largest news agency, began as a pigeon service carrying closing stock prices between Belgium and Germany. This was basically between the western and eastern termini of the telegraph in Europe.

The most expensive pigeon ever sold was "New Kim" which was purchased for $US1.9 million by a bidder from China in November 2020.