The world’s richest horse race!

The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996. Until 2010, the race was held at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Continuing the 14-year horseracing legacy laid down by Nad Al Sheba, the Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse has propelled UAE’s horseracing scene to greater heights on the global arena. The Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse’s first race meeting was the seventh Dubai International Racing Carnival which culminated with the Dubai World Cup (DWC), the prize money for which was US$10 million, making it the richest horse race in the world.

A simple translation of the word Meydan means 'a meeting place.' Few sporting venues can rival the Meydan racecourse for sheer scale or grandeur. Unparalleled levels of luxury, customer comfort and racing technology combine to create the ultimate horse racing experience.The Racecourse comes with a 1,750m All-Weather track and a 2,400m turf track. Other facilities include receiving barns, stables, turf and all-weather training tracks and jockey and horsemen’s lounges.

Equipped with first-class hospitality offerings and state-of-the-art racing facilities, its most outstanding feature is the Grandstand, an architectural feat featuring a crescent-shaped roof clad with solar panels. The Grandstand spans 1.5 kilometres and can accommodate up to 60,000 guests. And when the capacity crowd have finished cheering on the world's finest thoroughbreds there's a 5 star hotel, international restaurants and an IMAX cinema to capture the imagination. The Racecourse also includes the world’s first trackside five-star hotel, The Meydan, with almost all of its 230 suites having direct, unobstructed views of the tracks. Hotel bookings are now accepted online via The Meydan Hotel website at www.themeydan.com.

The race was the creation of the Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who owns Darley & Stud and Godolphin Racing one of the world's leading thoroughbred breeding and racing operations. The race is operated through the Emirates Horse Racing Authority (EHRA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs of United Arab Emirates.

With the establishment of the annual invitation-only Dubai World Cup, the United Arab Emirates became the home of one of the world’s top racing challenges, and drew the attention of millions of enthusiasts around the globe. Today, the Dubai World Cup meeting enjoys a formidable reputation.