Play Virtual Derby to win big! Just like real horse racing, you can research jockeys, trainers, horses and conditions before making your selection.
Jai Alai Trivia
- There are more Jai Alai frontons in Florida today than in any other place in the world.
- The sport has changed very little since it originated about 400 years ago. It has always been known for its fast pace and exciting tournaments.
- The pelota is known to be the hardest ball of any sport. It is roughly 3/4 the size of a baseball and is harder than a rock. Its core consists of Brazilian virgin de pola rubber and then it is layered with nylon and hand-stitched with two goat skin covers. The pelota, on average, has a court life of only about 20 minutes before the cover splits due to the high velocities at which it hits the wall during play.
- The training of Jai Alai pelotaris begins between the ages of eight and ten years and continues for years before the individual can become a professional player.
- Jai Alai became an Olympic sport on several occasions. The first was in Paris Olympiad of 1924 while the most recent was the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
- The first Jai Alai game in China was played in a fronton in Shanghai. Another fronton opened in Tientsin in 1934. But World War II and the communist government ended Jai Alai’s brief success there.
- The youngest professional player in the history of Jai Alai was Piston I. He began his professional career in Madrid, Spain in 1922 at the age of nine.
- The Guinness Book of World Records reports the official record for the fastest recorded Jai Alai ball at 188 MPH.
Place a Jai Alai bet now!