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| Staff Writer |
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The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) has announced that the total prize money for the two-day Saudi Cup meeting on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 February 2022, will increase to $35.1million, making it the most valuable fixture in global racing.
The Saudi Cup, which will be run as a Gr.1 for the first time, remains the world’s most valuable horse race at $20million, while five thoroughbred races on the Saturday card have been awarded Gr.3 status. Prize money for both the Gr.3 Neom Turf Cup and Gr.3 1351 Turf Sprint has increased by $500,000 to $1.5million. The Obaiya Arabian Classic, a $1m contest for Purebred Arabian horses was this week promoted to a Gr.2 race by the IFAHR.
At a series of press events held via video link from King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, HRH Prince Bandar Bin Khalid Al Faisal, Chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, spoke of the rapid progression of racing in the region:
“We could never have imagined the immediate impact The Saudi Cup would have on the international racing landscape, or indeed on our domestic racing product.
“In 2020 we launched our first-ever international meeting and less than three years later we enter our first racing season as a Part II racing nation, having been promoted by the IFHA earlier this month. We are now looking forward to hosting the world’s most valuable race, The Saudi Cup, as a Gr.1 for the first time, as well as five Gr.3 races on the undercard.
“None of this would have been possible without the buy-in and support of the international racing community and, on behalf of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, I would like to thank everyone within the industry for the way they have embraced The Saudi Cup.
As The Saudi Cup makes advances, so does our domestic racing offering. We continue to focus not only on the international aspects of this sport but also understand that building strong foundations upon which a sustainable industry can be built is a vital element to securing the future of this incredible and unique sport for generations to come, both in Saudi Arabia and overseas.”
The highlight on the opening day of the meeting, the STC International Jockeys Challenge (IJC), won last year by Ireland’s Shane Foley, will incorporate a turf contest into its four-race format, while a new international turf race, the Listed Al Mneefah Cup, worth $1million for Purebred Arabians, is also being added.