Because St. Patrick (San Patricio) drove the snakes out of Ireland. And while Texas isn't much like Ireland, it does have snakes -- rattlers -- and local folks figured it would be a good idea to drive snakes on St. Patrrick's Day. They're not likely to drive them out of Texas, which is much larger than Ireland, but they do find sport in moving them down the street a hundred feet or so.

Ratttlesnake races have been held on St. Patrick's Day in San Patricio every year since 1972, according to John Kelso's Texas Curiosities.

"The rattlesnakes race in lanes. The course -- about 100 feet long -- is lined. To get the rattlesnakes going, racers tap the ground next to their snakes with 5-foot-long plastic tubes called 'go-getters.'

"'That vibration of the ground will make them move,' said Jim Dulaney, president of the San Patricio Restoration Society, the event's sponsor."

Only rattlesnakes are allowed in the race. Contestants can bring their own rattler, or rent one for $20. Nearly 400 snakes are brought to the show each year for demonstrations, such as extracting venom. 

"The festival grew out of a community gathering that started in 1877," accordng to the Corpus Christi Caller Times. "Later the town began having a dinner on St. Patrick's Day as a commercial attraction. In 1973, organizers began looking for a way to draw bigger crowds, and a novel idea slithered its way to the top of the possibilities."

Racing takes place at the fairgrounds in Old San Patricio, about 30 miles northwest of Corpus Christi. More than 8,000 visitors turn out for the weekend event, which includes an arts and crafts, a carnival and a band. 

A followup to Ghost Towns of Texas, this volume profiles 94 abandoned communities in the Lone Star State, ranging from the Native American settlement of Heuco Tanks in the far west to the farming community oOchiltree in the Panhandle, the port of Sabine along the Gulf Coastt, and the coal-mining town of Minera on the banks of the Rio Grande.

Historian T. Lindsay Baker provides a brief history of each community, highlighting its historical significance and most unusual characteristics. Complented by road maps identifying the location of each town and historic photographs and prints, the sites are also illustrated with contemporary photos taken by the author to show the current condition. 

Rattlesnake races are just one of 300 unusual events, places and quirky people captured in the pages of Texas Curiosities. Others include the bubble gum blowing contest at the Burton Cotton Gin festival, the Dynamite Museum in Amarillo, and the Cow Goddess of Dallas. Accompanying the description of the World Championship Rattlesnake Races is a profile of Bob and Nan Herndon of Aransas Pass who sell fried rattlesnake meat from a booth at the races each year. The author, John Kelso, is a humor columnist at the Austin American-Statesman.