Dubai International Racing Carnival

The Past (2004 – 2009)

Winners:

            UAE                            228

            South Africa                 85                    (15.0%)

            Great Britain                 65                    (8.6%)

            Rest of the world          74                    (7.8%)

It’s not surprising to see the locals top the list of winners since they have the bulk of the runners. South Africa tends to have a large representation compared with other nations but has a very healthy strike rate of 15% wins to runs. A special mention must be made of the 5 wins from 19 runs made by Australia for an impressive 26.3% strike rate.

Earnings:

            USA                            $36.5m            ($414 943)

            South Africa                 $28.1m            ($49 784)
            Great Britain                 $19.9m            ($26 210)

            Japan                           $8.8m              ($252 386)

            Saudi Arabia                $7.6m              ($86 278)

            France                          $5.0m              ($66 636)

            Hong Kong                  $4.8m              ($396 875)

            Rest of the World         $9.5m              ($14 499)

This list excludes the UAE. The USA’s ability to raid the World Cup with a handful of horses and take home the bulk of the cash is impressive, earning on average more than $400 000 per run. Hong Kong and Japan are similarly big earners per start. South Africa and Great Britain tend to take away a large chunk of the prize money on offer with their larger and longer presence during the carnival.

GROUP & Listed Winners:

Group 1’s

            USA                            10                    (13.9%)

            South Africa                 3                      (7.1%)

            UAE                            3                      (4.1%)

            Japan                           2                      (8.7%)

            Great Britain                 2                      (5.6%)

            Rest of the World         5                      (6.8%)

The USA dominates here, usually be sending a strong contingent to raid the dirt races on the big night at the end of the Dubai season.

Group 1,2,3 and Listed winners:

            UAE                            45                    (6.5%)

            South Africa                 37                    (16.2%)

            USA                            12                    (13.8%)

            Great Britain                 12                    (6.9%)

            Rest of the World         23                    (6.9%)

South Africa has done particularly well here with 37 feature winners at a strike rate of 16.2%.

The Present (2010)

The 2010 Carnival begins next Thursday, 28 January and comprises 9 meetings until Friday, 5 March. The World Cup takes place a further three weeks later on Saturday, 27 March.

The majority of the races during the carnival are high level handicaps, usually for horses rated somewhere between 90 and 110, over a variety of distances and on both turf and the new artificial surface at Meydan. Bear in mind that a rating of 115 is good enough to rank a horse amongst the top 300 or so thoroughbreds on the planet in any year (120 could crack a place in the top 50), so most of these races will be for horses just a little below that elite group, perhaps those trying to impress enough to earn a place on the big night.

Notable races:

            28 Jan              UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (3yoF, A1400m, $50k)

                                    Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 (Gr3, A1600m, $200k)

            4 Feb               UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (3yo, A1400m, $50k)

                                    Al Rashidiya (Gr3, T1800m, $200k)

            5 Feb               Cape Verdi (Gr3, F&M, T1600m, $200k)

            11 Feb             UAE 1000 Guineas (Listed, 3yoF, A1600m, $250k)

                                    Al Shindagha Sprint (Gr3, $200k)

            18 Feb             UAE 2000 Guineas (Gr3, 3yo, A1600m, $250k)

                                    Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (Gr3, A1900m, $200k)

            19 Feb             Al Fahidi Fort (Gr2, T1600m, $250k)

            25 Feb             DRC Gold Cup (T3200m, $175k)

                                    UAE Oaks (Listed, 3yoF, A1900m, $250k)

                                    Balanchine (Gr3, F&M, T1800m, $200k)

            4 Mar               Al Bastakiya (Listed, 3yo, A1900m, $250k)
                                    Burj Nahaar (Gr3, A1600m, $200k)

                                    Mahab Al Shimaal (Gr3, A1200m, $200k)

                                    Dubai City of Gold (Gr2, T2400m, $250k)

                                    Jebel Hatta (Gr2, T1800m, $250k)

                                    Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 (Gr2, A2000m, $300k)

            5 Mar               Meydan Classic (3yo, T1600m, $150k)

                                    Al Quoz Sprint (Gr3, T1200m, $200k)

                                    Zabeel Mile (Gr2, T1600m, $250k)

The Future (World Cup, 27 March 2010)

            Dubai World Cup                     (Gr1, A2000m, $10m)

            Dubai Duty Free                       (Gr1, T1800m, $5m)

            Dubai Sheema Classic              (Gr1, T2400m, $5m)

            Dubai Golden Shaheen             (Gr1, A1200m, $2m)

            UAE Derby                              (Gr2, 3yo, A1900m, $2m)

            Godolphin Mile                         (Gr2, A1600m, $1m)

Al Quoz Sprint                          (Gr3, T1200m, $1m)

            Dubai Kahayla Classic              (Gr1, Purebred Arabians, A2000, $250k)

The Track

The new Meydan facility will likely have to be seen to be believed. The world-class facilities have a full capacity accommodating 60 000 people and include the world’s first five-star trackside hotel (The Meydan), a covered car park for up to 8600 cars, the Meydan Museum and Gallery, an IMAX theatre, and the Meydan Marina, as well as corporate and racing related offices.

Unlike the typical US tracks, Meydan (like Nad-Al-Sheba before it) has its Tapeta all-weather track on the inside of the Bermuda grass turf track. Races will be run anti-clockwise or left-handed.

The turf track has a 1200 metre straight course for the sprints, and a chute on the back straight which accommodates races up to 2000 metres. The oval distance is 2400 metres, the track is 30 metres wide, and the final run-in from the turn is 450 metres.

The all-weather track is a 1750 metre oval with two chutes off the back straights. The 1550 metre chute is at a slight angle, almost straight, while the 1600 metre chute joins the main track at an angle of about 45 degrees. The track is 25 metres wide and has a 400 metre run-in from the final turn.