JEDDAH: Up to $29 million could be up for grabs in February next year as details of the new King Abdulaziz Horse Championship have emerged.
It is just over a month since Saudi Arabia’s General Sports Authority announced that the new championship would rival the world’s greatest races but, until now, details were scant.
The main event will be staged on the dirt course at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh and will be run over 2,000 meters.
Feb. 23 has been earmarked as a likely date, although any time in the last two weeks of the month are possible. This could clearly clash with the Emir’s Sword international meeting in Doha, Qatar, which was held at Al-Rayyan Racecourse between Feb. 22 and 24 of February this year. The Saudi Arabian Equestrian Club also hopes to establish a prep race ahead of the big day, along the lines of Dubai’s Super Saturday concept that acts as a feeder for the Dubai World Cup meeting.
“There will be around eight to ten races on the big day,” Saleh Al-Hammadi, director general and secretary of the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Club and general manager of the King Abdulaziz Horse Championship, exclusively told Arab News.
“The big race will be something like $15-20 million. Of course the Pegasus World Cup is $16 million but people pay $1 million to participate, so it is different.
“For the other races on the big night we are looking to start at $1 million.”
Should the races go ahead, it would mean that a thoroughbred dirt performer could run for $16 million in the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in Florida at the end of January, the new King Abdulaziz Horse Championship for up to $20 million in February and the Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai in March.
Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Arrogate, who has been retired after wins in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Pegasus World Cup and Dubai World Cup, is currently the all-time largest earning racehorse at $17,422,600.
Last month there was a reshuffle of the management board at the Equestrian Club with Prince Bandar Bin Khalid Al-Faisal appointed as chairman, while Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal and Prince Abdullah bin Khalid Bin Sultan were appointed by royal decree as fellow board members.
All four of the board members met last week and will do so again in four weeks’ time when the further details of the big race and shoulder races should be finalized and announced.
Behind the headlines there is still a lot to be done before the grand vision is realized. For a start there are international protocols to set up in order for the import and export of racehorses. Saudi Arabian race rules need to be elevated to international standards and the issues of harmonization of race rules need to be discussed.
“Yes, we need to discuss all of this,” Al-Hammadi said.
“We looked at TV rights, race rules, guidelines and the next steps for the club and how to improve things to international standards.
“We will look to utilize foreign experts from Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. We will have them advise us and maybe there will even be full-time positions.
“We are also going to announce a big program of races during the summer to be held at the King Khalid track in Taif. Eight weeks of races across 16 days from June 22 until August 11. Each fixture will be seven races and will be open for Saudi and expatriate owners.”
Taif is a city in the mountainous region of Saudi Arabia, which is much cooler during the summer.
The King Abdulaziz Horse Championship will surpass the Dubai World Cup as the premier race in the Middle East. The famous UAE race was first run in 1996 over 2,000 meters on dirt at Nad Al-Sheba racecourse and offering a $4 million purse, which was a record at the time. The Dubai Racing Club, which was formed just four years beforehand, managed to lure over the great American racehorse Cigar and his victory over Soul Of The Matter lent a legitimacy to the race as a whole.
The prize increased to $6 million and then was bumped up to $10 million when the race moved to the glittering new Meydan complex in 2010.
In 2017 the World Cup was eclipsed for the first time as the world’s most valuable race when the Pegasus World Cup was established with a purse of $12 million.
Following the running of last year’s Dubai World Cup, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, pledged to increase the purse of the Dubai World Cup to make it once again the world leader. The Pegasus World Cup was subsequently run in January for $16 million.
Saudi Arabia set to up racing stakes with globe’s ‘richest race’
Saudi Arabia set to up racing stakes with globe’s ‘richest race’
- King Abdulaziz Championship could be worth up to $29 million
- The main event will be staged on the dirt course at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh over 2,000m
Pegula and Anisimova win to set up all-American semi-final showdown in Dubai
- Both of last year’s finalists Andreeva and Tauson eliminated after marathon matches in Thursday afternoon’s daylight quarterfinals
DUBAI: WTA 1000 week at this year’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is heading for an epic conclusion with two top-ranked players sealing progression to Friday’s semi-finals after mouthwatering marathons on Centre Court today.
In a quarter-final line-up where three of the four matches featured first-time meetings, the opening match pitted last year’s defeated finalist, Denmark’s towering Clara Tauson, against fourth seed Jessica Pegula.
Prior to play, neither player had lost a set in Dubai this year and the early throes of the tie demonstrated exactly why, as both exchanged blistering baseline groundstroke winners under the early afternoon sunshine. After a tense 40-plus minutes, a single break of serve was enough for Pegula to take the first set, 6-3.
The second set, however, saw a sharp reversal of fortunes. Tauson, widely regarded as a junior prodigy after surpassing 2011 Dubai champion’s Caroline Wozniacki record as the youngest winner of the Danish tennis championship before she became the first Dane to top the junior world rankings, rediscovered her ruthless streak.
With crosswinds swirling around Centre Court, the Dane took more risks and found the desired levels of accuracy as she broke Pegula twice in succession to claim the set 6-2 and level the tie.
With the delicately poised final set proceeding on serve until 3-3, Pegula struck a decisive break in game seven to move ahead. After respective holds of serve, the American held once more to clinch the match, seal progression to the final four, and ensure a minimum of $197,000 in prize money as well as 390 ranking points.
“I’m starting to feel more like myself again after a tough stretch earlier in the season,” said the World No. 5, before serving an ominous warning to her Dubai title rivals. “I’ve been serving better and moving well physically, and the work with my coaches has helped me get back to the roots of my game.”
Pegula will face second seed and World No. 6 Amanda Anisimova after she triumphed 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(4), against defending champion and fifth seed Mirra Andreeva in a thrill-a-minute encounter that clocked in at just under 160 minutes.
In only the second meeting between the two players — Anisimova edged Andreeva in a three-setter in Miami last year — the pair produced arguably the tie of the tournament so far. For three sets, the rollercoaster contest had everything; power, touch, stunning shot selection and execution, dramatic rallies, and the moments of world-class quality expected when two top five seeds meet.
After sharing the first two sets, and with a near-capacity Centre Court enthralled by the pendulum-like momentum, the match ramped up yet another gear in the deciding set. Andreeva went 3-1 up after breaking her American opponent twice in a row, but Anisimova hit back by winning four games on the spin to serve for the match at 5-4.
Andreeva, the youngest winner in both Dubai and any WTA 1000 event, was not yet ready to relinquish her title defence, lifting her game to win the next three games and move 6-5 ahead. Anisimova, after holding serve to make it 6-6, started the tiebreaker with greater purpose, eventually holding the third of her four match points to dethrone Andreeva and seal an all-American semi-final with Pegula.
“It was almost me in tears there at the end,” said Anisimova, referring to Andreeva, who sat inconsolably crying post-match. “It was such a tough battle, Meera fought so hard today, she’s playing so well and was fighting like a champion on court. I feel like these types of matches, it’s always tough that someone has lose at the end of the day. But, yeah, I feel like we both played great, and I’m really happy to get through.
“I love playing here in Dubai and I’m really excited for every match. Every point is going to be different, and I really enjoy that challenge. I play against Jess tomorrow, so another great fight, and hopefully we’ll have a good match. It’s always exciting against another American, she’s always bringing her best, and I feel like we always have great matches.”
