Dubai World Cup
The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and from 2010 at the Meydan Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operated through the Emirates Horse Racing Authority (EHRA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs of United Arab Emirates.
The race was the creation of the Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who owns Darley Stud & Godolphin Racing, one of the world’s leading thoroughbred breeding and racing operations.
Part of the Dubai World Cup Night of races, it has a purse of USD 10 million since 2010, making it the world’s richest horse race. It is a Group 1 flat race on Tapeta Footings sythetic surface for Northern Hemisphere Thoroughbred four-year-olds & up and for Southern Hemisphere Thoroughbred three-year-olds & up run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 10 furlongs) in late March.
The race’s first winner was the future United States Hall of Fame thoroughbred, Cigar, owned by Allen E. Paulson. A plaque honoring that hangs outside the barn of Bill Mott at Belmont Park.
In 2006 the Dubai World Cup was broadcast live on TVG Network and HRTV and taped later for showing on ABC. It was the first time that the race was shown on national TV in the United States. In 2010, the Dubai World Cup was held at the new Meydan Racecourse on March 27.
