A list of notable flat horse races which take place annually in the United Arab Emirates, including all conditions races which currently hold Group 1, 2 or 3 status.
Race Name | Racecourse | Dist. (m) | Surface | Age/Sex |
---|---|---|---|---|
Al Quoz Sprint | Meydan | 1,200 | Turf | 3yo+ |
Dubai Golden Shaheen | Meydan | 1,200 | Dirt | 3yo+ |
Dubai Sheema Classic | Meydan | 2,410 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Dubai Turf | Meydan | 1,800 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Dubai World Cup | Meydan | 2,000 | Dirt | 4yo+ |
Jebel Hatta | Meydan | 1,800 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Al Maktoum Challenge | Meydan | 2,000 | Dirt | 4yo+ |
Race Name | Racecourse | Dist. (m) | Surface | Age/Sex |
---|---|---|---|---|
Al Fahidi Fort | Meydan | 1,400 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Al Rashidiya | Meydan | 1,800 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Balanchine | Meydan | 1,800 | Turf | 4yo+ f&m |
Cape Verdi | Meydan | 1,600 | Turf | 4yo+ f&m |
Dubai City of Gold | Meydan | 2,410 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Dubai Gold Cup | Meydan | 3,200 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Godolphin Mile | Meydan | 1,600 | Dirt | 4yo+ |
Al Maktoum Mile | Meydan | 1,600 | Dirt | 4yo+ |
Al Maktoum Classic | Meydan | 1,900 | Dirt | 4yo+ |
Meydan Sprint | Meydan | 1,000 | Turf | 3yo+ |
Singspiel Stakes | Meydan | 1,800 | Turf | 4yo+ |
UAE Derby | Meydan | 1,900 | Dirt | 3yo |
Zabeel Mile | Meydan | 1,600 | Turf | 3yo+ |
Race Name | Racecourse | Dist. (m) | Surface | Age/Sex |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abu Dhabi Championship | Abu Dhabi | 2,200 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Al Shindagha Sprint | Meydan | 1,200 | Dirt | 3yo+ |
Burj Nahaar | Meydan | 1,600 | Dirt | 4yo+ |
Dubai Millennium Stakes | Meydan | 2,000 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Dubawi Stakes | Meydan | 1,200 | Dirt | 3yo+ |
Firebreak Stakes | Meydan | 1,600 | Dirt | 4yo+ |
Jebel Ali Mile | Jebel Ali | 1,600 | Dirt | 4yo+ |
Mahab Al Shimaal | Meydan | 1,200 | Dirt | 3yo+ |
Nad Al Sheba Trophy | Meydan | 2,810 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint | Meydan | 1,200 | Turf | 3yo+ |
UAE Oaks | Meydan | 1,900 | Dirt | 3yo f |
UAE 2000 Guineas | Meydan | 1,600 | Dirt | 3yo |
Race Name | Racecourse | Dist. (m) | Surface | Age/Sex |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dubai Racing Club Classic | Meydan | 2,410 | Turf | 3yo+ |
Meydan Challenge | Meydan | 1,400 | Turf | 3yo+ |
Zabeel Turf | Meydan | 2,000 | Turf | 3yo+ |
Meydan Cup | Meydan | 2,810 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Dubai Sprint | Meydan | 1,200 | Turf | 3yo+ |
Curlin Handicap | Meydan | 2,000 | Dirt | 4yo+ |
Al Bastakiya | Meydan | 1,900 | Dirt | 3yo |
President Cup | Abu Dhabi | 1,400 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Jebel Ali Stakes | Jebel Ali | 1,950 | Dirt | 4yo+ |
Jebel Ali Sprint | Jebel Ali | 1,000 | Dirt | 3yo+ |
Meydan Classic | Meydan | 1,400 | Turf | 3yo |
National Day Cup | Abu Dhabi | 1,600 | Turf | 3yo+ |
Dubai Creek Mile | Meydan | 1,600 | Dirt | 3yo+ |
Entisar | Meydan | 2,000 | Dirt | 3yo+ |
Garhoud Sprint | Meydan | 1,200 | Dirt | 2yo+ |
UAE 1000 Guineas | Meydan | 1,600 | Dirt | 3yo f |
Business Bay Challenge | Meydan | 1,400 | Turf | 4yo+ |
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in the UK and steeplechasing in the US. Jump racing can be further divided into hurdling and steeplechasing.
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been mostly unchanged since at least classical antiquity.
Conditions races are horse races in which the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the age of the runners, with younger horses receiving weight from older runners to allow for relative maturity, referred to as weight for age; and the quality of the runners, with horses that have won certain values of races giving weight to less successful entrants.
In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: hurdles and steeplechases. Alongside these there are "bumpers", which are National Hunt flat races. In a hurdles race, the horses jump over obstacles called hurdles; in a steeplechase the horses jump over a variety of obstacles that can include plain fences, water jump or an open ditch. In the UK, the biggest National Hunt events of the year are generally considered to be the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in late July and early August, which is one of the highlights of the British flat racing calendar, and is home to three of the UK's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the Sussex Stakes, the Goodwood Cup and the Nassau Stakes. Although the race meeting has become known as 'Glorious Goodwood', it is sponsored by Qatar and officially called the 'Qatar Goodwood Festival'.
Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and three Grade 1 Jumps races.
Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports include artistic cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX, mountain bike trials, hardcourt bike polo and cycleball. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling and international competitive cycling events. The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is the governing body for human-powered vehicles that imposes far fewer restrictions on their design than does the UCI. The UltraMarathon Cycling Association is the governing body for many ultra-distance cycling races.
Leicester Racecourse is a horse racing course in Oadby, Leicestershire, about three miles south of the city centre.
Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of British horseracing and is home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations, including Tattersalls, the National Horseracing Museum and the National Stud. Newmarket hosts two of the country's five Classic Races – the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas, and numerous other Group races. In total, it hosts 9 of British racing's 36 annual Group 1 races.
Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern race system introduced in 1971 and monitored by the European Pattern Committee. To attain or maintain a Group One status, the average rating for the first four finishers in the race must be 115 or higher over a three-year period. The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities works to ensure consistent international standards. Group One races may only be restricted to age groups or a stipulated sex: they should not be restricted to horses bred in a certain country. Group One (G1) races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia, but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply.
Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, near the border with Greater London; it is 16 miles south-west of Charing Cross in central London. The site has 210 acres of flat grassland surrounded by woodland with two lakes in its centre. Its entrance borders Kempton Park railway station which was created for racegoers on a branch line from London Waterloo, via Clapham Junction.
Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Europe, the Melbourne Cup in Australia, and the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup races in the United States. Victory in these races marks a horse as being particularly talented, if not exceptional, and they are extremely important in determining stud values. They are also sometimes referred to as Black type races, since any horse that has won one of these races is printed in bold type in sales catalogues.
Doncaster Racecourse is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy.
National Hunt flat races, informally known as bumper races, are a type of flat racing but run under National Hunt racing rules in Britain and Ireland.
The Curragh Racecourse is a flat racecourse in County Kildare, Ireland. The racecourse is home to Ireland’s five most important flat races, known as the Classics. Racing takes place 23 days each year from the end of March until late October. Guided tours of the venue are available outside of race days.
Mongoloid is an obsolete racial grouping of various peoples indigenous to large parts of Asia, the Americas, and some regions in Europe and Oceania. The term is derived from a now-disproven theory of biological race. In the past, other terms such as "Mongolian race", "yellow", "Asiatic" and "Oriental" have been used as synonyms.