In addition to the previously announced allocation of Group 1 status to the $20-million Saudi Cup and Group 3 status to five undercard Thoroughbred races, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia revealed in a press conference on Thursday some key purse increases for undercard races.
The 2022 Saudi Cup meeting, which will take place on Feb. 25 and 26, will be worth $35.1-million, making it the world's richest race meeting. Prizemoney for the G3 Neom Turf Cup and the G3 1351 Turf Sprint have each been boosted by $500,000, and are now worth $1.5-million apiece.
The JCSA also revealed a series of new qualifying races for the Neom Turf Cup and 1351 Turf Sprint. The GI Pegasus World Cup Turf, G3 Bahrain International Trophy and the G3 Challenge Cup at Hanshin in Japan will be qualifiers for the Neom Turf Cup. The G2 Hanshin Cup has been added as a qualifier for the 1351 Turf Sprint. The three qualifying contests for the Saudi Cup remain the same: the GI Pegasus World Cup, the G1 Champions Cup in Japan and the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques Cup.
“We could never have imagined the immediate impact The Saudi Cup would have on the international racing landscape, or indeed on our domestic racing product,” said HRH Prince Bandar Bin Khalid Al Faisal, Chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia. “In 2020 we launched our first ever international meeting and less than three years later we enter our first racing season as a Part II racing nation, having been promoted by the IFHA earlier this month. We are now looking forward to hosting the world's most valuable race, The Saudi Cup, as a Group 1 for the first time, as well as five Group 3 races on the undercard. None of this would have been possible without the buy in and support of the international racing community and, on behalf of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, I would like to thank everyone within the industry for the way they have embraced The Saudi Cup.
“As The Saudi Cup makes advances, so does our domestic racing offering. We continue to focus not only the international aspects of this sport but also understand that building strong foundations upon which a sustainable industry can be built is a vital element to securing the future of this incredible and unique sport for generations to come, both in Saudi Arabia and overseas.”
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