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| Sumita Pawar |
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In 2024, the Al Mneefah Cup, a prestigious Purebred Arabian (PA) race held at The Saudi Cup meeting, will be elevated to an international PA Group One status. The International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing (IFAHR) has upgraded it from PA Group Two. The race carries a prize of US$1m.
Elevating Arabian Racing Status
As a result of this upgrade, both the $2m Obaiya Arabian Classic, which takes place on the same night as the Group One $20m Saudi Cup, and the Al Mneefah Cup, which is held a day earlier, will now be run as PA Group One contests in the following year.
The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, which organizes the Saudi racing season, has also announced that in the 2023/24 season, six more PA races will be elevated to international Listed status. The first of these upgraded races, the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Cup, will be held at Ta'if's King Khalid Racecourse in early September, alongside the King Faisal Cup for Purebred Arabians, which already holds international Listed classification.
The upcoming Riyadh season, scheduled to start in October at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, Riyadh, will witness five PA contests being upgraded to international Listed class for the first time. Additionally, the JCSA Cup and a yet-to-be-named Listed race will be held later this year. In the new year, the Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Sword, The Sprint Championship, and the King Abdulaziz Racecourse Championship will all be run as PA Listed events.
His Royal Highness, Prince Abdullah Bin Khalid bin Sultan Al Saud, Chairman of the JCSA’s Technical Committee, said, “We are very pleased that our Purebred Arabian race schedule has received such a big vote of confidence from the IFAHR.
The development of Arabian racing has been and will continue to be a key goal in the strategic advancement of the JCSA. It is a code of the sport that holds a special place in Saudi Arabian culture and to see it flourish in The Kingdom is very gratifying.
The upwards trajectory of Purebred Arabian racing within the country is reflected in the strong representation of Saudi-owned, trained, and bred Arabians on the global stage and we look forward to watching these six races play out on our racecourses."