RIYADH: The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia has announced dates for the 2026-27 Riyadh Racing Season, along with a number of new features highlighted by the introduction of a colts and fillies series.
Getting underway on Oct. 16 and concluding on April 17 next year, the season will now feature the Riyadh Crown Series open to colts, geldings and fillies, a three-leg event for local-bred horses.
The SR6 million ($1.6 million) series kicks off on Dec. 4 with a $133,000, 1,400-meter race for 2-year-olds before the 3-year-old competitors take in another 1,400-meter Open worth $133,000 on Jan. 22, 2027. It concludes by a step up to the 1,600-meter Domestic Group 1 King Abdulaziz Cup with a purse of $1.3 million on March 12.
Local-bred fillies will take part in the $410,000 Riyadh Sword Series which gets underway with the Dec. 5 Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Cup for 2-year-olds worth $80,000. The event moves on to the $80,000 1,000 Guineas over 1,400 meters on Jan. 8 for 3-year-old fillies, before reaching the grand finale with the 1,600-meter Fillies Mile on Saudi Cup day, Feb. 6, which carries a purse of $250,000 and is open to both local and imported fillies.
Elsewhere on the program the usual highlights of the Riyadh Racing Season feature prominently, with enhancements including a boost in prize money to the G3 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup from $400,000 to $530,000, and the Listed Crown Prince Cup from $270,000 to $400,000.
The King Saud Cup and the Listed King Faisal Cup both benefit from an increase in prize money from $213,000 to $270,000, while the Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Cup and the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Cup are elevated from $186,000 to $213,000 each. Finally, the Listed King Abdulaziz Racecourse Championship purse goes from $80,000 to $133,000.
In a new development from the Asian Pattern Committee, the 1,600-meter Saudi Derby, held on Saudi Cup day, has earned a promotion from Group Three to Group Two. This race has enjoyed a distinct international flavor since its inaugural running, with Japan winning on three occasions courtesy of Full Flat (USA) in the first year, Pink Kamehameha (JPN) in 2021 and global superstar Forever Young (JPN) in 2024. The USA has struck with Pinehurst in 2022, the UAE with Golden Vekoma (USA) in 2025 and the race has twice stayed in Saudi Arabia thanks to the 2023 exploits of Commissioner King (USA) and the unbeaten Al Haram (IRE) this year.
Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al-Faisal, Royal Court adviser, chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Equestrian Authority and chairman of the board of Directors of the JCSA, thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their commitment to the the Kingdom’s equestrian sector.
He said: “This support has contributed to consolidating the Kingdom’s position on the global horse racing map, and the Riyadh Season 2026-27 comes as an extension of this journey, with a program that carries measurable initiatives that reflect our ambition to provide a stronger and more competitive season, and to continue to raise the level of racing in line with the position that the Kingdom has reached globally.”
With $52.7 million in prizes available for Major Cups for a total of $62.9 million in prize money across 50 race days over six months, the JCSA now goes to racing two days per week, every Friday and Saturday.
There are 21 feature race days headlined by seven stand-out weekends, including the Juvenile Championship, the Crown Prince Cup, the Kings’ Weekend, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Weekend, the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Festival, the Saudi Cup and the King Abdulaziz Cup.
