The hippodrome at Jerash is one of the few surviving Roman chariot-racing tracks in the world, large enough to seat 15,000 spectators when it was in full operation during the city's heyday in the second and third centuries AD. The track is 245 metres long and the central spine (spina) around which chariots raced is partially reconstructed.
Today the hippodrome hosts a daily programme of displays — chariot racing, gladiatorial combat demonstrations, and Roman army drills performed by actors — that give non-specialist visitors a visceral sense of the entertainments that once filled this space. The displays are professionally staged and make for a lively complement to the more reflective experience of walking the ruins. Check the daily schedule at the site entrance.