"On the fifth day, the leading horse – a black mare known as Betsy Baker – stopped responding to the whip, and retired for two hours. She was apparently exhausted, and nothing could induce her to continue except champagne." -- The past truly is a foreign country.
It's still an Olympic event. I used to know a race walker in the DC area, but I don't know where he found events to compete in. I think he was the one who told me that race walking develops the muscles more evenly than running does. (I can't remember exactly how he put it.)
The article has a photo of the Royal Agricultural Hall in London where they used to hold races. It's now called the Business Design Centre and this year has been converted into a mass vaccination centre - it's where I got my jab!