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| Sumita Pawar |
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The 2023-24 Riyadh season, scheduled from 26th October 2023 to 16th March 2024, will feature more races at King Abdulaziz Racecourse. Additionally, there will be a 7% increase in prize money compared to the previous season. The Saudi Cup meeting in February is expected to be the highlight of the season.
The upcoming racing season will see 700 races run over 59 race meetings, which is an increase of 56 races from last season. Race meetings will now have 12 races, with 10 for Thoroughbreds and two for Purebred Arabians.
There will be 66 more races for Purebred Arabians, including a new cup race called the Abdulaziz Bin Musa'id Bin Jalooey Cup, which will debut on February 10, 2024, with a prize of USD80,000. Five Purebred Arabian contests have been added to the pattern this season, including three new Cup races for Thoroughbreds. The Listed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup will be shortened to 1800m to better reflect its status as a key qualifier for the USD20m Saudi Cup.
The Saudi Cup meeting will take place on February 23-24, 2024, and will feature three international Gr.1s, including the promoted Al Mneefah Cup for Purebred Arabians.
HRH Prince Abdullah bin Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the JCSA’s Technical Committee, said, “The announcement of the 2023-24 Riyadh programme marks the JCSA’s continued commitment to the growth of racing in The Kingdom.
“The Riyadh programme, held throughout the Autumn, Winter and Spring at King Abdulaziz Racecourse builds on the success of the Ta'if Summer Season and leads the Saudi Arabian racing community into The Saudi Cup weekend and beyond to the conclusion of the season in March and then potentially an international campaign for the top performers.
“This season the Listed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup will be run as an 1800m race for the first time, making it a true prep for The Saudi Cup which is held over the same course and distance. In addition, we have added to our Purebred Arabian programme with almost double the amount of races on offer. Every race night will now feature 10 Thoroughbred races and two Purebred Arabian contests, underlining our continued commitment to developing this code of racing both in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
“We expect to announce further updates to the 23-24 programme in the coming weeks and look forward to a successful and exciting Riyadh season."