RIYADH: Saudi owners are set to participate in the Breeders' Cup Festival, a major international horse racing event to be held in the US this weekend.
Horses from around the world will compete in 14 races over two days at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky.
The annual first-class tournament attracts world champions on the ancient track.
The Breeders' Cup Classic, a Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race, is considered the premier horse race of the festival, where colts and fillies who are 3-year-old and above will run over 2,000m on dirt, with US$7 million in total prize money.
Saudi owners are going to be active in the main race, through the homebred of Prince Khalid bin Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms; the grey champion "Tacitus" and the dark brown "Siskin", expected to compete in the Breeders' Cup Turf Mile, a Grade 1 skates race.
The 2-year-old “Princess Noor” for Saudi owner Amr Zedan, will also capture attention in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies-G1.
This major festival has seen several Saudi participations, “Enabel” and “Intercontinental” bred and raced by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, and “Anees” racehorse owned by Prince Ahmed bin Salman, who have achieved many victories.
Saudi horse owners compete in the International Breeders' Cup
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Saudi horse owners compete in the International Breeders' Cup
Transport minister oversees operations as King Khalid Airport resumes service
- Saleh Al-Jasser inspects facilities, assesses measures taken to restore passenger flow
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s minister of transport oversaw operational procedures at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday after heavy rain reportedly brought it to a near standstill on Friday.
Saleh Al-Jasser inspected the airport’s facilities and assessed measures taken to restore smooth passenger flow, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He also received a technical briefing at the operations center from Raed Al-Idrissi, the CEO of Matarat Holding, on airport operations and flight punctuality, and the implementation of Passenger Rights Protection Regulations.
He ordered the necessary reviews to ensure sustained operational discipline under all conditions.
Al-Jasser was accompanied by the General Authority of Civil Aviation’s President Abdulaziz Al-Duailej; Ayman AboAbah, the CEO of Riyadh Airports Company; and several senior officials from the airport.
Thousands of passengers traveling to and from the airport were left stranded on Friday due to a slew of cancellations and delays.
Saudia and flyadeal were among the aviation firms who faced difficulties, with the two airlines blaming temporary operational challenges for the issues.
A statement from the airport on its official X account had urged travelers to contact airlines directly before heading to the aviation hub to verify the updated status and timing of their flights.
The statement said: “King Khalid International Airport would like to inform you that, due to the concurrence of a number of operational factors over the past two days — including several flights diverting from other airports to King Khalid International Airport, in addition to scheduled maintenance works within the fuel supply system — this has resulted in an impact on the schedules of some flights, including the delay or cancellation of a number of flights operated by certain airlines.”
Airport sources told Arab News that the issue resulted from the heavy rain Riyadh experienced on Friday.
Water had reportedly got into the fuel tankers set to refuel jets, and several airlines then struggled to reschedule passengers.
