The story
Mongol Derby in Mongolian Steppe
The Mongol Derby is billed as the world's longest horse race, covering roughly 1,000 kilometers across the Mongolian steppe over the first two weeks of August. It recreates the horse messenger relay system Chinggis Khan developed in 1224. Riders change among 1,500 semi-wild horses at 25 stations spaced roughly 35 kilometers apart, navigating the route independently and often staying overnight with local herder families.
For two weeks each August, a strip of Mongolian steppe becomes the course for what organizers call the world's longest horse race: the Mongol Derby, roughly 1,000 kilometers of open grassland, hills and river crossings with no marked track and no fixed route between checkpoints.