The Saudi 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 an international level, acting as a marker for the Kingdom’s transformational journey, encouraging tourism and investment. 

 

Established in 2020 and organised by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Cup is a two-day international racing festival, headlined by the USD$20m The Saudi Cup – the world’s most valuable race. The meeting traditionally takes place at the end of February at the King Abdulaziz racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and total prizemoney for this year’s Saudi Cup day card, which features dirt and turf races that regularly attract the world’s highest rated racehorses, is USD$ 31.5m.

 

The third renewal of the festival launches on Friday February 25, 2022, with the STC International Jockeys Challenge, which sees seven female and seven male jockeys from Australia, Europe, Japan, the United States of America, as well as two local jockeys compete as individuals in four races, each worth USD$400,000. Races are open to locally trained horses only and are run over a variety of distances, ranging from a 1200m sprint to a middle-distance race over 1800m.

 

Jockeys collect 15 points for a victory with the next four finishers scoring 10, 7, 4 and 2 points. In addition to prizemoney earned in a race, competing jockeys share a prize pot of USD$ 100,000.