SAUDI ARABIA TO STAGE WORLD’S RICHEST RACE

Saudi Arabia will be the host of the world’s newest and richest race in the shape of the $20m Saudi Cup which will be held at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh on 29th February 2020, over 1m1f on dirt. A maximum of 14 starters will run in the contest. The Chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, HRH Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal, launched the event at Saratoga yesterday stating: “The introduction of the Saudi Cup as an international race is without doubt the most significant event in the history of horse racing in Saudi Arabia, and demonstrates our resolve to develop this great sport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and also our ambition to become a leading player on horseracing’s world stage.” He continued: “We look forward to welcoming international horsemen and women, the media, racing enthusiasts and the public to Riyadh in 2020.”

The running of the race has been strategically placed between the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park, which previously had a peak value of $16m in 2018, and the Dubai World Cup, currently worth $12m. The organisers hope that this will attract the top horses in the world who now have the opportunity to compete in all three of the world’s richest dirt races.

The King Abdulaziz racetrack, opened in 2003, was named after HRH Prince Bandar’s great grandfather who founded modern Saudi Arabia in 1932. The track has a mile and a quarter circumference with a three-furlong chute and a state-of-the-art dirt racing surface.

Frankie Dettori reported: “I’ve been going to King Abdulaziz racetrack ever since it opened. It’s based on Belmont, in that it’s a one-turn mile and a quarter. Of all the dirt tracks I’ve ridden, it’s the one I like best, as you can win from the front, and you can win from behind; it’s a fair track. “The other thing I like is that the kickback is so much less than on other dirt tracks. I don’t know why, but the sand seems finer and doesn’t stick. You only need a couple of pairs of goggles, where on other tracks you need four or five. “It’s a kinder track that I can see turf horses handling.” Olivier Peslier concurred: “King Abdulaziz Racetrack is one of the best dirt tracks in the world. A wonderful track and I know that the American jockeys like it very much because it really suits the American horses. It has a long straight and there is not much kickback.”

Of the $20m prize fund on offer, half will go to the winner and the remaining $10m will be shared with the runners down to tenth place. Entries are free and the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia will arrange and fund the shipment of all invited horses, including the flights and hotel accommodation for their human connections. Further international races will be supporting the feature race, details of which will be announced at a later date.