Nearly 30,000 people from the Mekong River Delta flocked to Ta Miet pagoda in Tri Ton district, An Giang province on October 14 to enjoy the annual Bay Nui cow race during the Khmer Sene Dolta Festival 2012.

This year’s oxen event, the 21st of its kind, attracted 64 pairs of oxen from Tri Ton, Tinh Bien, Chau Thanh, Chau Phu and Thoai Son districts (An Giang province), Hon Dat and Kien Luong districts (Kien Giang province) and Kirivong district (Takeo province, Cambodia).

The Number 13 pair owned by Tran Van Cac from Tinh Bien district, An Giang province won first prize, which included a television and Wave motorbike valued at a total of VND30 million.

Pair Number 44 owned by Nguyen Van Bup from Tri Tien district earned second prize of VND20 million, while pair Number 54, belonging to Chau Kim Sang, also from Tri Tien district, came in third and received VND15 million.

The An Giang provincial People’s Committee, in co-ordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, organized a seminar on the Bay Nui ox race on the same day.

At the event, 58 speakers presented 56 articles on the history, development and rules of the Bay Nui ox race.