Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season

Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season
James Doyle won last season’s domestic G1 Crown Prince Cup aboard Frankel. (Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia)
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Updated 27 September 2023
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Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season

Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season
  • 700 races will be run at King Abdulaziz Racecourse with a total prize fund, excluding the Saudi Cup meeting, of $21.9m
  • Three other new cup races for Thoroughbreds have been added to the calendar

RIYADH: Prize money for the 2023-24 horse racing season in Riyadh, which begins on Oct. 16 and continues until Mar. 16, will increase by more than 7 percent compared with last season, and 56 additional races will be run at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, where the highlight remains the Saudi Cup in February.
The total prize money for the season, excluding the Saudi Cup meeting, will rise by $1.5 million to a total of $21.9 million, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia said. The total number of races will increase to 700 across 59 meetings, all of which will comprise 12 races compared with the previous 11: 10 for Thoroughbreds and two for purebred Arabians.
This represents a significant increase in the number of races for purebred Arabians over the course of the season, the jockey club added, with 66 races added to the calendar. They include a new cup race, the $80,000 Abdulaziz bin Musa’id bin Jalooey Cup, which will be run for the first time on Feb. 10, 2024.
Five purebred Arabian contests have been introduced to the pattern, the highest level of races, this season and will be run as listed contests. The JCSA Cup will take place on Nov. 25, a week after a new, yet to be named listed race on Nov. 18. In the new year, the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Sword on Jan. 13, the Sprint Championship on March 8, and the King Abdulaziz Racecourse Championship on March 9 will be run as purebred Arabian listed events.
Three other new cup races for Thoroughbreds have been added to the calendar. The Imam Mohammed bin Saud Cup, worth $240,000, is a notable addition to the King’s Cup race day on Jan. 13, and the others are the $80,000 Prince Saad bin Abdulrahman bin Faisal Cup on Jan. 19 and the $80,000 Prince Fahad bin Jalawi Cup on Feb. 10.
A further development this season is the reduction of the distance in the listed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup to 1,800 meters, the same trip as the $20 million Saudi Cup, to better reflect its status as a key qualifier for that contest.
The dates for the Saudi Cup meeting have been confirmed as Feb. 23 and 24. It will once again carry an enormous prize fund of $35.4m, with the centerpiece $20 million Saudi Cup race itself maintaining its position as the most valuable in the world.
For the first time this season, the Saudi Cup meeting will feature three international G1 races, after the Al-Mneefah Cup for purebred Arabians, which takes place the day before the Saudi Cup, was promoted to G1 status this season.
Prince Abdullah bin Khaled, chairperson of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia’s Technical Committee, said: “The announcement of the 2023-24 Riyadh program marks the JCSA’s continued commitment to the growth of racing in the Kingdom.
“The Riyadh program, held throughout the autumn, winter and spring at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, builds on the success of the Ta’if summer season and leads the Saudi Arabian racing community into the Saudi Cup weekend and beyond, to the conclusion of the season in March and then potentially an international campaign for the top performers.
“This season the listed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup will be run as an 1,800-meter race for the first time, making it a true prep for the Saudi Cup, which is held over the same course and distance.
“In addition we have added to our purebred Arabian program, with almost double the amount of races on offer. Every race night will now feature 10 Thoroughbred races and two purebred Arabian contests, underlining our continued commitment to developing this code of racing both in Saudi Arabia and beyond.”
 


Sports minister attends competitions on day 14 of Saudi Games 2023

Sports minister attends competitions on day 14 of Saudi Games 2023
Updated 07 December 2023
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Sports minister attends competitions on day 14 of Saudi Games 2023

Sports minister attends competitions on day 14 of Saudi Games 2023
  • He was accompanied on the tour by Prince Fahd bin Jalawi and Princess Delayel bint Nahar, director and deputy director of the games respectively

RIYADH: Saudi sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki toured the Saudi Games complex on Wednesday and attended the tennis, beach volleyball and chess events on day 14 of the competition.

He was accompanied on the tour by Prince Fahd bin Jalawi and Princess Delayel bint Nahar, director and deputy director of the games respectively.

During his visit, Prince Abdulaziz also visited the games’ Fan Zone, the entertainment sector, as well as the Saudi Olympic Academy.

Elsewhere on day 14, medals were awarded in the women’s jujitsu under-60kg category, and in the under-66kg, under-77kg, under-88kg and over-88kg categories in the men’s jujitsu.

In the men's handball competition, Mudhar currently lead Group A with 6 points following their 33-22 victory over Al-Qarah. In Group B, Al-Khaleej continued to assert its dominance after defeating Al-Safa 27-24. Meanwhile, Al-Muheet secured a win against Al-Njoom with a score of 47-19, placing them in third.

After Wednesday’s competition, the deaf futsal competition reached the quarterfinal stages and the youth handball is now at the semifinals.

On Thursday, there are three finals in the MMA competition scheduled, in the men’s basketball final Al-Hilal will face off with old rivals Al-Nassr, while Jeddah United and Al-Asima will compete in the women’s basketball final.


E-visas available for 2023 FIFA Club World Cup ticket holders

E-visas available for 2023 FIFA Club World Cup ticket holders
Updated 06 December 2023
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E-visas available for 2023 FIFA Club World Cup ticket holders

E-visas available for 2023 FIFA Club World Cup ticket holders

Riyadh: The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed on Wednesday that electronic visas would be available to ticket holders for the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup in Jeddah.

The move has been made in cooperation with the Ministry of Sport.

“The step aims to facilitate travel procedures to the Kingdom for football fans to attend the 2023 Club World Cup matches, and also aims to provide the best possible experience for fans to visit the Kingdom and support their clubs during the tournament in an enthusiastic atmosphere,” a ministry statement said.

Ticket holders can apply online for an e-visa to attend the tournament’s games.

The Kingdom will host the competition from Dec. 12 to 22, with the participation of Al-Ittihad, the Roshn Saudi League champions for the 2022 to 2023 season.


Arab Cycling Federation delegation in Saudi Arabia for Arab Road Cycling Championship inspection

Arab Cycling Federation delegation in Saudi Arabia for Arab Road Cycling Championship inspection
Updated 04 December 2023
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Arab Cycling Federation delegation in Saudi Arabia for Arab Road Cycling Championship inspection

Arab Cycling Federation delegation in Saudi Arabia for Arab Road Cycling Championship inspection
  • The competition, overseen by the International Cycling Union (UCI), will take place Dec. 15 to 23 in Riyadh

RIYADH: A delegation from the Arab Cycling Federation was in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for an inspection visit ahead of the Arab Road Cycling Championship next month, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The ACF delegation, led by secretary-general Ismail Al-Hosani, met with the president of the Saudi Cycling Federation, vice-president of the Arab Cycling Federation, Abdullah Al-Wathlan.

The visit included inspection tours covering the race routes totaling 730 kilometers.

It also included a tour of the accommodation for teams, technical and arbitration needs, as well as the final preparations and arrangements to welcome the Arab teams.

During the meeting, Al-Wathlan expressed the SCF’s eagerness for further cooperation with ACF to provide the best cycling experience possible for more than 300 cyclists representing 13 countries.

The competition, overseen by the International Cycling Union, will take place Dec. 15 to 23 in Riyadh.



 


Al-Ahli, Al-Shabab to the fore at Saudi Games

Al-Ahli, Al-Shabab to the fore at Saudi Games
Updated 03 December 2023
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Al-Ahli, Al-Shabab to the fore at Saudi Games

Al-Ahli, Al-Shabab to the fore at Saudi Games
  • Medals also given out following the fencing and robotics events
  • 3x3 basketball and handball competitions got underway on Saturday

RIYADH: Al-Ahli and Al-Shabab dominated the medals at the Saudi Games’ athletics events on Saturday.

In the men’s 800-meters final, Al-Shabab’s Issa Ghazwan took the gold and his teammate Sami Al-Yami the bronze. There was also a gold medal for Al-Shabab in the men’s 400-meters hurdles, which was won by Mohammed Al-Mauwi.

Al-Ahli’s Ali Mas took home the gold medal in the men’s 200-meters final, while Suga Saied finished first for the same club in the women’s long jump final.

Elsewhere, Ryan Al-Khawiter beat last year’s champion Kevin Orlandi to win gold and SR1 million ($266,574) in the triathlon at the Prince Faisal bin Fahad Olympic Complex.

Khaled Al-Mobty also clinched gold on Saturday in the individual show jumping event, with Meshari Al-Harbi taking home silver and Mohammed Al-Askar the bronze.

The jet ski gold medal and SR1 million prize was won by Tariq Bukhari at Durrat Al-Arous in Jeddah.

There were also medals awarded in the under-54 kg, under-65 kg, under-80 kg and under-97 kg categories of the paralympic weightlifting event.

Al-Nassr and Al-Selmeyyah qualified for the beach soccer final, to be held on Sunday evening, while the Riyadh club also secured a place in the men’s futsal final against Al-Ettifaq.

There were medals given out following the fencing and robotics events, while the 3x3 basketball and handball competitions got underway on Saturday.


Emirates Team New Zealand sail away to win 2nd America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Jeddah

Emirates Team New Zealand sail away to win 2nd America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Jeddah
Updated 03 December 2023
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Emirates Team New Zealand sail away to win 2nd America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Jeddah

Emirates Team New Zealand sail away to win 2nd America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Jeddah
  • CEO Dantly thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting the Preliminary Regatta

JEDDAH: Emirates Team New Zealand won the America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta on Saturday in Jeddah ahead of its Italian challenger Luna Rossa.

The New Zealand team clinched the victory after three days atop the standings and exploiting its speed advantage to pick up back-to-back wins.

The Italian team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli closed the second preliminary event of the 37th America’s Cup in second place, having raced brilliantly in the final race.

“We’ve been sailing so well all week, haven’t done too many things wrong and we’re super happy to come away with the win here in Jeddah,” New Zealand skipper Peter Burling told the crowd.

“It has been awesome here and a great showcase for our sport, to have a couple of breezy days here, it’s been amazing.”

Luna Rossa skipper Marco Gradoni said: “We definitely didn’t race very well but we were there with the Kiwis.”

Hundreds of fans visited the America’s Cup Race Village on Jeddah Corniche to see the New Zealand team claim victory in the final race.

Badr Al-Kadi, Saudi deputy minister of sports, and Grant Dantly, CEO of the America’s Cup, also attended the trophy ceremony.

Dantly thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting the Preliminary Regatta and praised everyone involved in organizing the race.

“It was a very successful race, weather conditions were great, and we really enjoyed being here in Saudi Arabia,” he said.