The Sports Boulevard Foundation signed a partnership with the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, making Sports Boulevard an official sponsor of one of the races held in the evening of the 2024 Saudi Cup, the world’s most valuable horse race.
The partnership to sponsor the Sports Boulevard Riyadh Dirt Sprint race was signed in the presence of Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al-Faisal, chairman of the Equestrian Authority and the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, by Ziad Al-Mogren, CEO of the Jockey Club, and Jayne McGivern, CEO of the Sports Boulevard Foundation.
The Saudi Cup took place on Feb. 23-24 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, welcoming the greatest racehorses, jockeys, trainers, and owners.
This is the second year of Sports Boulevard’s official sponsorship of the Saudi Cup, which this year has a combined prize fund of more than $37.35 million — an increase of $2 million on last year.
Al-Mogren said: “Alongside the Sports Boulevard sponsorship of Riyadh Season races, their mission to transform the city of Riyadh and offer state-of-the-art equestrian sports facilities aligns with our ambition of bringing more of Saudi Arabia’s residents into the sport. We look forward to collaborating with Sports Boulevard to promote equestrian sports people across the Riyadh city.”
McGivern said: “Creating access to grassroots sports for people across Riyadh and the Kingdom, including horseback riding and other equine activities, is something I am passionate about. Horse racing has a deep-rooted history in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with thoroughbred horses descending from Arabian bloodlines. As a globally famous horse racing event, this partnership is the perfect platform to encourage community engagement.”
Through the partnership, attendees were able to have plenty of opportunities to find out more about Sports Boulevard. Visitors to its booth learned about how the megaproject will transform health and well-being in Riyadh.
Sports Boulevard — one of Riyadh’s megaprojects — was launched by King Salman in March 2019 to help achieve the Kingdom’s ambitious Saudi Vision 2030 strategy and Quality of Life program. The Sports Boulevard will transform the health and well-being of Riyadh’s residents today and in the future, helping the Kingdom to deliver on its goal of making Riyadh one of the world’s top 10 most livable cities.
Sports Boulevard is an innovative and sustainable urban regeneration project, expected to be one of the largest of its kind in the world. Taking a former pylon dominated utility corridor and transforming it into a green oasis, Sports Boulevard will connect the city from west to east through a grid of safe, green pathways for pedestrians, cyclists, athletes, and horse-riders.