Tradition on four legs: Hunt Races draw crowds in Geneseo

GENESEO — One moment, a pack of manes, legs and brightly-colored saddle blankets is streaking across the distant hillside. Within seconds, the thumping hooves round a bend and gallop through the grass, blazing by with improbable speed just feet away from hundreds of onlookers.

The horse races — one after another — are both the center of the action and the constant backdrop for one of Geneseo’s defining annual events.