The race-course placings

In al-Masudi's account, the hilba is the racecourse of horse racing among the Arabs. Horses were sent out in groups of ten, and each place in the ten had a name. ²

Al-Masudi mentions that the first is the sabiq al-mujalli (the foremost, who wins the race). The second is the musalli, because he places his muzzle on the croup of the first. The third is the musalli (also called the "muslli"), because he shares in the race. The fourth is the tali. The fifth is the mirtah. The sixth is the hazzi. The seventh is the 'atif. The eighth is the mu'ammil. The ninth is the lateem. The tenth is the sakit. ²

Al-Masudi mentions that the rider of the tenth horse would be filled with humility and abasement. They would tie a rope to his horse's neck and mount a monkey on it with a whip, so as to shame its rider. He reports that some would plant their horse and pelt it with arrows until it grew thin, and that al-Nu'man did this with his horse al-Nahb. ²