Race of the Apis Bull

"At the Sed festival, the Pharaoh was beloved to absorb the power of

the Apis bull by walking with Him in the procession. This was sometimes called the “Race of the Apis Bull” or “Running With the Apis”.  

In the Early Dynastic Period, the ritual known as The Running of Apis was performed to fertilize the earth. Where the bull ran during this ceremony is unclear, but most likely, it was in the temple precinct at Memphis, the capital of Egypt at the time, which would symbolically fertilize all the land.
One of the most important events the bull participated in was the Heb-Sed Festival, held every thirty years of a king's reign in order to rejuvenate him.

The bull was selected, after a careful search, based upon its appearance: it had to be black with a white triangular marking on its forehead, another white marking on its back in the shape of a hawk's or vulture's wings, a white crescent on its side, a separation of the hairs at the end of its tail, (known as the "double hairs") and a lump under its tongue in the shape of a scarab. If a bull were found with all of these characteristics, it was instantly recognized as Apis, of course, but even a few or one would suffice. In Memphis the Apis bull was kept in special quarters just south of the Temple of Ptah where it was adored by worshipers and entertained by its own harem of cows. 

On feast days, festivals, and other special events like a king's coronation, the bull was turned loose in a special chamber with different gates leading from it. Symbols and foodstuffs were placed on the other side of the chamber's gates, and people would ask questions regarding the future while the bull was led into the room. Whichever gate the bull chose to go through would provide an answer to the people's questions.

Once the oracle had been given and interpreted by the priests, the bull was allowed to roam at will within the enclosure while the people knelt before it in worship. To the ancient Egyptians, every kind of life was an extension of the divine and all of life was sacred. Although the Egyptian diet did include meat, it was largely vegetarian, and when animals were eaten, thanks were offered for the sacrifice....a particular bull's body might die but not the bull itself, not the soul which animated the animal.

Apis was the most important and highly regarded bull deity of ancient Egypt. ... He was originally a god of fertility, then the herald of the god Ptah but, in time, was considered Ptah incarnate.

It was so important that it was mentioned in the famous Palermo Stone." Google/Britanica