Saudi Cup Picks & News

The Saudi Cup is a two-day international racing festival hosted at King Abdulaziz Racetrack, Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, with an undercard of international races on dirt & turf. The most valuable horse racing event in the world and the greatest racehorses, jockeys, trainers, and owners will travel to Riyadh to compete against the very best of Saudi’s racing industry. It is organized by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia and it aims to bridge the gap between the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park, USA, and Dubai World Cup at Meydan, UAE.

This Horse Racing Cup was established in 2020 featuring 22 Group or Grade 1 winners, who had accumulated 34 wins at that level between them. The inaugural running of The Cup saw them compete across an eight-race card for a total prize pot of USD $29.2m.

The 2021 Cup prize purse was increased to $30.5m and the number of Group and Grade 1 winners entered to run went up to 31. Adding even more international flavor in February 2021 was the newly founded $500,000 Saudi International Handicap, introduced for horses trained in developing racing nations.

It had runners from ten different countries and celebrated five overseas winners across eight races. The first two Saudi Cup editions attracted horses from around the globe, including Japan and the United States. Maximum Security won the first running, but his purse money remains held up pending resolution of charges in the USA against the trainer Jason Servis.

The third edition was run as Group 1 event for the first time on February 26, 2022. The two-day Saudi Cup program offered $35.1 million in purses, making it the world’s richest horse racing meeting. Held before a large audience of guests and media.

A full card of racing on the preceding Friday included an International Jockeys Challenge which had female and male jockeys compete as individuals as well as the $500,000 Saudi International Handicap for horses trained in IFHA-registered Part II and III racing countries.

This Cup is charged with raising awareness of horse racing in the country and encouraging participation among men and women throughout the sport. It also aims to promote Saudi Arabia at international level, acting as a marker for the Kingdom’s transformational journey, and encouraging tourism and investment. This current year marks the 4th edition of the richest race of the world, which holds a purse of USD$35.35m and will take place on February 25th.

Saudi Cup Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time	Video
2023	Panthalassa	6	Yutaka Yoshida	Yoshito Yahagi	Hiroo Race Co LTD	1:50.79
2022	Emblem Road	4	Wigberto S. Ramos	Mitab Almulawah	Prince Saud Bin Salman Abdulaziz	1:50.53
2021	Mishriff	4	David Egan	John Gosden	Prince Abdul Rahman al Faisal	1:49.59
2020	Maximum Security	4	Luis Saez	Jason Servis	Gary L & Mary E West, Mrs J Magnier, M Tabor & D Smith	1:50.59