I recently told a friend that I had found a new racetrack, and his reply was simply: "Degenerate."
Although a pejorative by traditional definition, the label is considered a compliment to those of us who count horse racing as a valuable part of our lives.
I've never kept count, but I have attended tracks large and small for six decades in the United States, Canada, Ireland, England, France, Argentina, and Barbados. Ireland alone has 26, and I've only missed a couple there. Many of my favorites in the U.S. have come and gone: Hialeah, Tropical Park, Garden State, Atlantic City, Green Mountain, Rockingham, Narragansett, Suffolk, Freehold, Birmingham, Bay Meadows, Golden Gate, Hollywood Park, and probably others. RIP to all, along with many of the wasted days of my youth.
A few years ago, my wife Maggi and I determined that little was to be gained by sitting on the beach and waiting for the grim reaper. No shuffleboard, no pickleball, no bingo for us. We decided that I could indulge my urge to write from just about anywhere on the globe, and since I had the foresight 30-plus years ago to acquire an Irish passport, it made perfect sense that the Emerald Isle would be a good landing spot.
No decision could have been better. The Irish people are kind, friendly, and intensely inclined to conversation, as is my spouse. Happy wife, happy life. As a result, we have spent plenty of time and mileage trotting from track to Irish track.
In the fall of 2025, we had the good fortune to have a close friend of Maggi's offer us her home in Sicily, the historic island off the tip of the Italian boot. Given the chance to escape a chilly Irish winter, we gratefully accepted the offer and set about planning our journey.
Predictably, the only serious rub was transportation, since we are the subservient though loving stewards of a pair of Pembroke Welsh Corgis. As such, we are unwilling to subject them to the cargo bay of any commercial aircraft. So, they were loaded into our right-hand drive car for a journey through the left-hand driving European continent, beginning with a voyage by ferry from Ireland to France and a memorable road trip that ended in the northern Italian city of Genoa.
From Genoa we boarded another ferry that took us to Palermo on the northern shore of Sicily. After a night's stay there and an initiation the next day in the rustic charms of the Sicilian highways, we arrived at our winter home in the village of Brucoli (population 1,098) on the eastern coast of the island, facing the Tyrrhenian Sea in one direction and the active volcano Mt. Etna in another. We were blessed with peace and quiet, sunny weather in the 60s, and Google Translate to interpret our wishes. The dogs were fine.
Not too many days passed before, out of my normal curiosity, I ran across an online article about horse racing in Sicily. I discovered there were two racecourses and a healthy interest in the sport. The track in Palermo was exclusively a harness racing venue, but the one near Siracusa—just down the road from Brucoli—offered Thoroughbreds. So far so good for me.
Soon, one of our island explorations put us at the doors of Ippodromo del Mediterraneo di Siracusa, the brainchild of local businessman and racing patron Concetto Mazzarella. An early interest in riding jumpers at the Siracusa Equestrian Center led to Mazzarella's involvement in racing, along with his love of the annual race run down the main street of his hometown, Floridia, which evokes comparisons to the famous Palio in Siena. It was his guidance and passion for the sport that led to the development of a modern racecourse attached to a luxury hotel and spa in 1995.
Designed and built to international standards, Ippodromo del Mediterraneo quickly assumed a place among the finer courses in Europe. The track opened its doors in '95 with guest appearances by Lester Piggott, Willie Carson, and John Reid—rightfully hailed as European jockey royalty—and a crowd of some 20,000 racing fans. Through the years, the venue has hosted everything from international jockey challenge competitions—featuring Italian icon Frankie Dettori and international star Umberto Rispoli—to the Siracusa regional finals of the Miss Italy pageant.
It did not require much in the way of an introduction for Signore Mazzarella to welcome Maggi and I with open arms as our host for the track's season opener in January of 2026. The day's festivities also would be recognizing the previous season's leading jockey, trainer, and owner as well as the 2-year-old, 3-year-old, and older champion horses.
We found a dining room (similar to Santa Anita's FrontRunner) overlooking the finish line, and, as a third-generation Italian-American, I can vouch for the quality of the menu. I therefore recommend that you begin with the grilled octopus. After that, the linguini vongole and its abundance of fresh clams would put anyone's favorite Italian restaurant back home in the States to shame. Then finish with a cannoli and an espresso, and you will be ready to pick some winners.
The western end of the north-facing grandstand overlooks the paddock from three levels, from which fans are afforded a view of the saddling area and walking ring. Jockey quarters, stewards room, and pre/postrace testing facilities rival the best tracks anywhere in Europe. Video controls and an in-house studio for interviews and features also reflect the most up-to-date presentation of the sport.
Immediately adjacent to the racing facility is the luxurious Eureka Palace Hotel Spa Resort. The hotel features 95 rooms and 11 suites, many of which overlook the racetrack. There are Olympic-sized indoor and outdoor swimming pools, while the Hippodrome Club offers tennis courts and soccer fields, all lit for night use.
Running both flat and harness programs over turf and dirt courses, the Ippodromo del Mediterraneo keeps to a year-round schedule, racing on Fridays, Saturdays, and holidays. There are 48 days of flat racing and 35 of harness. The main track is a turf course of 2,200 meters (approx. 11 furlongs). Inside the turf course can be found a 1,600-meter (approx. 1-mile) dirt track for flat racing and a 1,200-meter (approx. 6-furlong) oval for harness racing. The courses are illuminated by one of the largest lighting systems in the world for the night racing portion of the season, which runs from early June through September when daytime temperatures run well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. As in many European venues, environmental sustainability is a priority, and the entire property, both track and hotel/spa, are supported by solar power.
Italian tracks are rated by the Ministry of Agriculture. In turn, the Ministry of Finance allocates purses according to their class rating. Ippodromo del Mediterraneo holds the distinction of being rated No. 2 on the list of racetracks among the 25 in Italy, behind only Milan and above Rome.
There is a limited inventory of horses on the island, in the neighborhood of 500-800, including both Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds. The horses come from all over, although the better Thoroughbreds mostly hail from the Goffs and Tattersalls sales in Ireland on nonstop flights from Dublin to Catania, up the coast from Siracusa.
With access to the island only by boat or plane, there is an understandable lack of international participation in the sport. But it is certainly not due to a purse structure, which for lower level and handicap horses would rival most European tracks. On our first visit we witnessed conditioned races with purses from €8,000 (US$9,506, €1=US$1.19) to €12,000, and stakes of €28,000 and €34,000. The healthy purse structure has helped Sicily's leading trainer, Vincenzo Caruso, to rank third behind Italy's perennial leader, Stefano Botti.
In these days of widespread uncertainty, it was encouraging, perhaps even inspiring, for an American couple to witness the enthusiasm for the sport displayed at the Sicilian oval. As far as the tourist trade is concerned, the winter months are the off-season in Sicily, which meant the days we spent going racing were mainly in the company of the locals. Even so, the culture of the racetrack is universal. Sicilian punters whip and drive their horses to the wire just like their counterparts at Belmont or Saratoga, exulting when they have a winner.
My credentials as a former Santa Anita Park general manager and breeder of a Belmont Stakes (G1) winner somehow impressed our hosts, and I was tasked with presenting trophies to the champion jockey and trainer during the awards portion of the afternoon's activities. My Italian isn't that good, but I got the gist of my introduction to the crowd. Although I also might have been credited with several Triple Crown winners and the invention of the photo finish camera. But maybe not. One thing is certain—we shall return to Ippodromo del Mediterraneo.
John Perrotta has been a Thoroughbred owner and breeder, major racing stable manager, racetrack executive, and Hollywood screenwriter, as well as the author of seven books, including 2025 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award finalist "A Beggar's Ride."
