LONDON: The director general and secretary of the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Club has said he wants to establish the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh as a major venue for high-class international racing.
Last month the General Sports Authority announced that the King Abdulaziz Horse Championship would rival the world’s great races by eclipsing the $16 million Pegasus World Cup that is staged at Gulfstream Park in Florida, America in January.
A date for the contest has yet to be given, but when asked whether the proposed race would offer the world’s richest purse, Saleh bin Ali Al-Hammadi said: “That is what we hope, Inshallah.
“I don’t want to talk about it, I want people to see it. As a live event that takes place here. We want the best horses on this planet earth to come and participate on the soil of Saudi Arabia, which we call the ‘Cradle of Horses’.”
Al-Hammadi also said, in a video published on social media: “It’s not a secret when I say there is a huge plan to make this track an international track for international participation. The plan is to have the biggest racing and prize money.”
The race is designed to help Saudi Arabia burnish its credentials as a key player in world horseracing, and to try to share its historic and cultural legacy of equestrianism.
According to a recent report, there are 28,000 horses in the Kingdom and more than 3,000 Arabian horses were bred in 14 studs in 2016.
Last week it was announced that the Riyadh-based Equestrian Club has undergone a management reshuffle, with Al-Hammadi now holding the positions of director general and secretary.
Prince Bandar Bin Khalid Al-Faisal has been appointed chairman, while Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal and Prince Abdullah Bin Khalid Bin Sultan are appointed members of the board, according to a royal decree.
The Equestrian Club, which was established in 1965, organizes races in Riyadh and Taif with the participation of Arabian horses.
The staging of the $17 million King Abdulaziz Horse Championship will top the lot, though, and continue the power struggle at the apex of world horse racing regarding prize money.
Dubai’s World Cup meeting has long been top dog with a purse of $10 million, but it was upstaged in 2017 when Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Arrogate won the inaugural $12 million Pegasus World Cup.
Following Arrogate’s subsequent victory in the World Cup at Meydan Racecourse two months later Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, prime minister of the UAE the ruler of Dubai, said that he had hoped to make the race he inaugurated in 1996 once again the world’s biggest payday. An announcement has not been forthcoming ahead of the World Cup meeting on March 31.
A month later it was announced that prize money for the Pegasus World Cup would be increased to $16 million.
'We want the best horses on the planet to race here,' says Saudi Arabia horse racing chief
'We want the best horses on the planet to race here,' says Saudi Arabia horse racing chief
Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder in rout of Cavaliers
- Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30-point haul led the way, with center Chet Holmgren providing offensive support with 28 points and Luguentz Dort adding 18 points
Los Angeles: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder returned to winning ways with a 136-104 pummeling of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.
Two days after suffering an upset defeat by Miami on Saturday, the NBA champions ensured there would be no repeat against Cleveland as the league marked the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday with a packed slate of fixtures.
Apart from a brief spell at the start of the first quarter, Oklahoma City led throughout, building up a double-digit lead before accelerating away with a 45-point fourth quarter.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30-point haul led the way, with center Chet Holmgren providing offensive support with 28 points and Luguentz Dort adding 18 points.
Isaiah Joe chipped in with 16 points from the bench while Aaron Wiggins finished with 12 as five Thunder players recorded double figures en route to a victory that sees Oklahoma City improve to 36-8 at the top of the Western Conference.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 19 points while four Cavs players — Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Jaylon Tyson and De’Andre Hunter — all finished with 16 points apiece.
In Monday’s other early game, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 21 points helped the Milwaukee Bucks hold off a late rally in a 112-110 road win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Milwaukee opened a 23-point lead midway through the third quarter but a stubborn Atlanta line-up chipped away at that advantage and grabbed a slender one-point lead with just over a minute remaining before the Bucks reasserted themselves to dig out victory.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led Atlanta’s scoring with 32 points off the bench including seven three-pointers, with Jalen Johnson finishing with 28 points for the home side.
