The Saudi Cup is coming back to the city this month.
The Saudi Cup is known to be the world’s most expensive horse racing event, with over $35.5 million in prize purses to be won.
Currently in its fourth edition, attendees can watch professional riders saddle up from Friday February 24 to Saturday February 25 at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh.
The annual event celebrates local and international horse racing, and it features jockeys from around the world.
Here’s everything you need to know about The Saudi Cup before it comes back to the city.
What is The Saudi Cup?
The Saudi Cup is organised by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia. It’s worth repeating: There’s a whopping USD35.35 million on offer in prize purses, making it one of the most sought-after horse races of the year.
The event currently has 16 races. It was launched in 2020, and it features some of the world’s greatest racehorses, jockeys and trainers.
What to look out for
A highlight of the event is going to be the global Group 1 flat race held over 1,800 metres, better known as the Saudi Cup, for a prize of USD20 million.
There’s also the Tuwaiq Cup, which is a race for locally trained horses, and the new Group 2 Al Mneefah Cup for Purebred Arabians, too.
Other main races include the Group 3 races on both dirt and turf, the Group 1 Obaiya Arabian Classic for Purebred Arabian racehorses and the Jockey Club Handicap for locally trained horses.
There are seven confirmed female and seven confirmed male jockeys for The Saudi Cup 2023. These include contestants from France, the United States, Canada and Japan.
Abdullah Alawfi and Naif Alanazi will be representing Saudivia the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA).
Event location
The massive horse racing event will be held at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in the Saudi capital.
What you can see and do
The horse races are the main draw, but there is plenty of excitement happening around the sporting event. The horse racing event will also have a cultural village for you and the fam to check out. Here, you can enjoy music and a children’s play area. Foodies can also look forward to food offerings and big screen race viewing.
Dress to impress as one of the things The Saudi Cup is also popular for is the on-ground fashion.
Race tickets 2023
Thankfully, you don’t need to have a purse quite as big as the one to be won at the races to attend the annual sporting event. The Saudi Cup tickets are available on tickets.thesaudicup.com.sa, and you can get either a general admission day-only pass for SAR199 or a two-day pass for SAR275.
Additionally, you can get a family package pass for four people for one day at SAR450 or SAR800 for a two-day pass.
Get inspired
If you want to take the reins yourself, you can giddy up at one of these horse riding places in the city, too.
From SAR199. Fri Feb 24-Sat Feb 25. King Abdulaziz Racecourse, tickets.thesaudicup.com.sa.
After more? Here are the best places to go horseriding in Riyadh.
