The races in its modern form, play a fundamental part in the life of Madura and its people, bringing activity to a standstill when a race meeting is in progress. Conditions specified that bulls entered for the race must be of Madurese stock and colour, height and strength are also taken into consideration. The race season is set from July through October. The last race of the season selects the overall champion, by a process of district races culminating in the finals held at Pamekasan, the capital of the island. Realising the tremendous value the races have for attracting domestic and foreign tourist, they can also be arranged on request for the tour groups. The races are conducted over rather short courses. The length of the village race is 110 meters, that of district race 120 meters, and that of the residency races 130 meters. Each course is 30 meters wide.

Each race therefore lasts only a few seconds, conducted in a series of elimination heats between winners and losers of preceding heats. Excitement mounts heat after heat and eventually two sets of winners are determined, the best of the losers and the best of the winners.