As a friendly reminder to all patrons, supporters of the Blues are requested to sit on west side of the arena, while supporters of the Greens are requested to sit on the east side of the arena. Improper seating may result in grievous bodily harm at the hands of the opposing faction. As always, the Basileus' box (Kathisma) is located in the south, dividing both sections, and is directly connected to the Great Palace by a private staircase.
Chariot Races will be run in the Hippodrome on a regular basis. As is tradition, there will be four chariot teams competing in each race. The teams are well-known to all Romans by their colors, the Blues (Venetii), the Greens (Prasinoi), the Reds (Rousioi) and the Whites (Leukoi). While at one point all four teams competed separately, the Reds and the Whites have long since lost their prominence as independent teams and both act as a 'second' team for the greater factions of the Blues and Greens. The Reds are the second team of the Blues, and the Whites are the second team of the Greens. A victory for either of a faction's teams is considered a victory for the faction as a whole.
The races themselves will be seven laps of the Hippodrome. The chariots will be pulled by either two or four horses, depending on what the factions agree upon before the race begins. The names and notable skills of the four Charioteers (Agitators), along with any other pertinent information about the teams, will be announced at the time the races are scheduled.
Senators are free to make any kind of wager they would like on the outcome of the chariot races. Bets may be made based on which faction will be victorious, which individual team will be victorious, or any other aspect that is deemed worthy of gambling over. Races will be announced several days before they are scheduled to take place, so there will be plenty of time for the placing of bets. Senators are reminded that these bets are private affairs, and enforcement of the terms of the bets must be accomplished by the gamblers themselves. As is well known, the Blues and Greens have a notoriously hostile rivalry, and corruption and foul-play may impact the outcome of the races themselves. In such an event, Senators are urged to keep their followers in line to prevent damage to the city from mass rioting.
The events and outcome of the races will be determined by multiple dice rolls. Teams will have set odds of overtaking an opponent on every lap. Primary teams will have better odds than secondary teams. However, there are multiple factors that can influence the races. All charioteers will have personal characteristics that will give them advantages and disadvantages in certain situations. These will increase or decrease their odds of a successful die roll. Advantages could be things such as doing well with two-horse chariots, being a good starter, or excelling in the last lap of a race. Disadvantages could be things such as doing poorly with four-horse chariots, being weak on laps 3 through 5, or being intimidated by a particular opponent. In addition, there is a small chance that each faction will attempt to cheat. Cheating can take many forms, from minor things like throwing something into the face of an opponent during the race, to major things like sabotaging an opponent's starting gate or bribing a Pit-Stop Soaker (Sparsor) to 'forget' to wet down an opponent's axle, possibly causing the chariot to catch fire. Chariot racing is also a dangerous sport, and it will be possible for chariot teams to wreck and even for Charioteers to be killed. None of the odds for the die rolls will be made publicly available, but a general description of the race will contain clues as to which teams will have advantages or disadvantages in certain situations. The race itself will be described in the form of a running commentary.
The Hippodrome
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