Elephant racing enough to accommodate nine participating elephants. Elephants are entered into the races from many villages. Two mahuts or jockeys ride on each elephant - one to steer it and another to goad it to race fast. A musical instrument made of horns of the elephants is blown first to assemble the elephants at the starting gate, then another sound is blown to signal the elephants to take the starting line and be set for the race, and with the third blow of the horn, the race is signaled. The elephants generally race at a speed of 25 mph with the
War elephant left a deep cultural legacy in many countries. Many traditional war games incorporate war elephants. Chaturanga, the ancient Indian board game from which modern chess has gradually developed, calls its bishop "Gaja", meaning elephant in Sanskrit; it is still called an elephant in Chinese chess. Also in Arabic – and derived from it, in Spanish – the bishop piece is called "al-fil", Arabic for "elephant"; in Russian, too, the bishop piece is an elephant (Слон). In Bengali, the bishop is called "hati", Bengali for "elephant". In the Japanese game shogi, there used to be a piece known as the "Drunken