A Hippodrome was a Greek stadium for horse racing &chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words hippos & dromos. Some present-day horse racing tracks are also called hippodromes, for illustration the Central Moscow Hippodrome.
The Greek hippodrome corresponded to the Roman Circus, not including that in the latter only four chariots ran at a time, whereas ten or more contended in the Greek games, so that the width was far greater, being about 400 ft (120 m)., the course being 600 to 700 ft (210 m) long.
The hippodrome was not a Roman amphitheatre which was used for observer sports, games & displays, or a Greek or Roman semi-circular theater used for theatrical performances. Oktoberfest, in Munich, is a world famous beer festival. Unlike beer festivals in the UK, populated mainly by people who wouldn't be out of place in Viz's Real Ale Twats column, Oktoberfest is a period of 3 weeks every year where the good people of Munich mix with the beer tourists for a veritable carnival of lager drinking.
There are 14 tents, every of which seat between two & nine-thousand people, inside & outside. There are fairground rides, silly hats, people ,merchandise stalls, selling every kind of tobacco imaginable, but first & foremost there is a truly vast amount of lager being drunk.