Chariot races for two mules (apene) were organized at Olympia for the first time in 500 BC. Though several important Greeks participated in this event, this race never acquired the same prestige as the races for horses. When Anaxilas of Rhegion asked Simonides to write a victory ode for him, the poet answered that the pay and the subject were too low for him. The race for mules was abolished in 444 BC.

The two-horse chariot was introduced at Olympia only in 408 BC. In 264 BC followed also the two-horse chariot race for foals. The horses ran 8 rounds (9 km), the foals 4 rounds (3,5 km).