Dubai Racing Club
Horseracing began in the Emirate in October 1981, when the dusty Camel Track hosted the first thoroughbred racemeeting. Three races were run – a sprint, a mile and a mile and a half, and was organised by the office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Just over ten years later, in early 1992 the Dubai Racing Club was established under the chairmanship of Colonel Ali Khamis Al Jafleh, a UAE air force commander. March saw the official opening at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, where the highlight was the appearance of some of horseracing’s biggest stars at the time – jockeys Lester Piggott & Willie Carson.
In March 1993, with the free movements of horses still some time away (horses could not be shipped in and out of the UAE to most of the major racing countries in the world) the Dubai Racing Club went for the second best option – jockeys.
On March 26 of the same year, Nad Al Sheba hosted the inaugural Dubai International Jockeys’ Challenge (DIJC). Five groups of two jockeys were invited to compete, senior riders representing USA, Europe, Australia, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.
The DIJC would eventually pave the road towards the Dubai World Cup, the first of which was held in 1996.
The Dubai World Cup race meeting thrust both Nad Al Sheba and the UAE onto the global stage, when American ‘wonder horse’ Cigar, claimed the first Dubai World Cup. Fittingly, 14 years later, another American brilliantly bookmarked the Dubai World Cup chapter at Nad Al Sheba, when Well Armed registered a 14-length resounding success, a record-winning distance.
As racing developed, two ground-breaking initiatives were introduced that would pave the way towards the success and growth of racing in Dubai. In 2004, the Dubai International Racing Carnival was conceptualised, followed by the Winter Racing Challenge in 2006.
The DIRC, which runs during the later part of the season, from the middle of January to the beginning of March, attracts some of the finest horses from all around the world and the total value of the prize money stands at over US$35 million today. The Carnival has become a truly pioneering festival and shifted the focus of the international horse racing community.
The WRC runs during the first part of the season and showcases the local talent and rising stars the UAE has to offer. It is also regarded as a stepping stone into the premier league – the DIRC.
As the calibre of horses competing in both the Carnival and the season’s closing flagship meeting has steadily arisen, so has the global appeal, with top class runners coming from all over the world – Great Britain, the United States of America, Japan, France, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Australia and Hong Kong to name a few.
Continuing the 14-year horseracing legacy laid down by Nad Al Sheba, the new Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse will set new standards for luxury and propel UAE’s horseracing scene to greater heights on the global arena.
Equipped with first-class hospitality offerings and state-of-the-art racing facilities, the Meydan Racecourse is unlike any other in the world. Its most outstanding feature is the Grandstand, an architectural feat featuring a crescent-shaped roof clad with solar panels. The Grandstand spans 1.5 kilometres and can accommodate up to 60,000 guests.
The Racecourse also includes the world’s first trackside five-star hotel, The Meydan, with almost all of its 230 suites having direct, unobstructed views of the tracks. It will also have high-end international restaurants, an IMAX theatre, the Meydan Museum and Gallery, Meydan Marina and the Falcon Commercial Park free zone offices.
The Racecourse comes with a 1,750m All-Weather track and a 2,400m turf track. Other facilities include receiving barns, stables, turf and All-Weather training tracks and jockey and horsemen’s lounges.
The Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse’s first race meeting will be the seventh Dubai International Racing Carnival starting 28 January 2010, which will culminate with the Dubai World Cup (DWC) on 27 March in the same year. DWC 2010 is especially symbolic not only because of its 15th anniversary, but celebrating the milestone at the iconic Grandstand will make it one of the most dynamic and memorable horseracing experiences yet. The prize money for DWC has been raised to US$10 million, which would no doubt raise the stakes for spectator and competitor alike at the highly-anticipated event.
