Hundreds of buffaloes charging across rice fields might not be considered subtle, but it's considered an enjoyable and lucrative event for thousands of people in the Philippines.
The farming village of Bibiclat, about 150 kilometres north of Manila, was one of dozens across the province of Nueva Ecija where about 4000 people held water buffalo races on Friday.
The races are held to celebrate the feast of Saint John the Baptist in the majority-Catholic country.
From early morning until early evening yesterday, almost 100 races were held in Bibiclat on four dirt tracks in a field, attended by about 1000 farmers and spectators.
Participating farmers stood on a small metal cart which is tied to the buffalo - called carabao in Tagalog - and spurred the animal to run by hitting it with an electric prod.
Prize money can be won by betting on an animal, and if it wins the race the farmer will get double the amount of money back, but if it loses then nothing is recouped.
Bets ranged from 1,000-5,000 pesos ($A28-$A142).
In past years, people at the races suffered injuries as a result of buffaloes trampling them, but yesterday was reportedly injury-free.
