We recommend an article in the Encyclopedia of Traditional Sports

La course landaise – traditional sport of France

The passion of the inhabitants of Gascony for cow racing is a long story. The document found in the Bayonne archives of 1289 is an evidence of this. Of course, it did not look like la Course Landaise we know today. The first races included running on the narrow streets of medieval cities from animals that were led by butchers to the slaughterhouse. Cows, oxen and bulls gave young people some adventure in their life, like facing the horns, and at the same time opposing civil and religious authorities who severely condemned these, considered anarchist and pagan, practices.
More: https://www.traditionalsports.org/traditional-sports/europe/la-course-landaise-france.html