87 horses compete on the opening evening of the Meydan racing season

This evening, Meydan Racecourse will launch its new racing season 2024-2025, in a ceremony that includes seven rounds, with 87 of the best local and international horses competing for their titles, according to the Emirates Horse Racing Authority on its official website.

The evening is sponsored by Emirates Airlines, with a total prize pool of 1.37 million dirhams.

The first evening includes a round dedicated to purebred Arabian horses of the “parity” category, followed by six rounds for purebred crossbred horses, all of which are held on the dirt tracks of the “Meydan” track, including the fifth and main round, which bears the name “Emirates Airlines”, and whose financial prizes amount to 300 thousand dirhams. .

The purebred Arabian horses begin the racing evening in a race extending over a distance of 1,400 sandy meters, attracting 12 horses, before the excitement continues on its way to the fifth and main half, designated for horses in the “parity” category, and 14 of the best horses compete for the title over a distance of 1,600 sandy metres, of which the horse stands out. “InCrowd” under the slogan of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and under the supervision of coach Salem bin Ghadeer, Aspiring to the seventh victory in his career, and his first locally, after his brilliance on French tracks.

In the main race, trainer Michael Costa leads three horses owned by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, led by “Al-Hazeem” and “Maftool”, who excelled last season, as “Al-Hazeem” won on the dirt tracks of the “Jebel Ali” track, while achieving “ Maftool won two victories at Al Ain and Jebel Ali tracks, but over longer distances that ranged between 1,950 meters and 2,000 metres.

Entering the competition for the title of the main race is the horse “The Great Collection”, owned by Zwar Sikrikov, and under the supervision of trainer Doug Watson, especially since the 10-year-old horse had previously achieved remarkable victories during his career on the Meydan track, the last of which came last January in A race in the same category, “Takaoul,” over a distance of 1,400 metres.