THE SAUDI CUP

Name: The Saudi Cup
Start: 2027-02-05
End: 2027-02-06
Location: King Abdulaziz Racecourse

February · King Abdulaziz Racecourse, Riyadh · Two Days · Since 2020 · The Turf

Arranged by the Court

Forever Young, in maroon silks under Ryusei Sakai, drawing clear of a rival under the floodlights on the Riyadh dirt at The Saudi Cup — I · The Finish

Dates: 5 and 6 February 2027
WhereKing Abdulaziz Racecourse, Riyadh
DressLounge suit; with a tie
AdmissionOpen to the public
The weatherIn February Riyadh reaches about 24°C by day and 10°C at night, and rain falls on about one day in nineteen.
Of noteParking at the racecourse is free and plentiful. On Saudi Cup days general admission guests follow the road signs to Gate 5, and grandstand guests use the main entrance gate.
In companyA member who means to go says so to the Secretary, and the Court seats its members together where the engagement allows.RSVP tells the Secretary that a member means to attend. Send passes the engagement’s name, its date and the address of its page to whomever the reader chooses, or, on a computer, copies the address; the Court itself sends and keeps nothing.RSVP

The Saudi Cup is the richest horse race in the world. Twenty million dollars for a mile and an eighth on dirt at Riyadh, ten of them to the winner, run in February, on a date set around Ramadan.

The meeting around it is worth as much again, which makes it the richest day’s racing held anywhere.

A bay colt in blue and orange silks driven out a length clear at the line on the Riyadh dirt at The Saudi Cup — II · The Winning Post

The Design

The race was built rather than grown. It was announced in 2019 and first run on the twenty-ninth of February 2020.

The gap it was designed to fill was a real one. The Pegasus World Cup runs at the end of January in Florida and the Dubai World Cup at the end of March, and there was nothing of consequence between them. Riyadh placed itself in the middle and outpriced both.

The terms are unusual. The race is free to enter and free to run. The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia pays for stabling, feed, the veterinarian and the farrier, and for the flights and the rooms of everyone who travels with the horse. Prize money is paid down to tenth place.

A turf course was laid for the meeting, the first in the country, because Britain and Europe race on grass and would not otherwise have come.

The first running went badly. Maximum Security passed the post in front, his trainer was indicted in America the following month on charges of doping horses, the purse was withheld, and the horse was eventually disqualified with every runner behind him moved up a place. The trainer was later sentenced to four years in prison.

Two horses race head to head on the floodlit dirt at night, their jockeys in maroon and in teal and white, the grandstand behind, at The Saudi Cup, Riyadh — III · Head to Head

The Arabians

One race on the card is for purebred Arabians, and it is the one worth understanding.

Every thoroughbred alive descends in the male line from three stallions of Eastern blood brought to England between the 1680s and the 1730s. The breed that built the sport is rarely raced at its highest level anywhere. Here it is, on the ground it came from.

Racing in the kingdom is older than the track. King Abdulaziz raced with his sons at Malez, which now lies under central Riyadh. The first official race was run in 1965 and the present course opened in 2002.

The field strung out along the turf course below date palms and the Riyadh plain at The Saudi Cup — IV · The Turf Course

What to Know

Two days. Friday holds the International Jockey Challenge, with fourteen of the world’s riders. Saturday holds everything else.

General admission sells out, and Riyadh hotels price accordingly. Take both a long way ahead.

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia publishes a dress code for the Saudi Cup. Gentlemen wear a thobe with bisht, a daglah or sayah, the formal national dress of their country, or a suit with a jacket, with a tie required within the Royal Area, which takes in the Grandstand and the Parade Ring; jeans, T-shirts and shorts are not permitted. The Court wears a lounge suit and tie.

The course is twenty to thirty minutes from the airport.

Jockeys who have ridden it say the sand is finer than most dirt and throws back less, which is why turf horses handle it better than they ought to.

The mistake is going only for the main race. It is the last race on the card, and the card in front of it is as strong as any assembled in a single afternoon.

Questions

When is the Saudi Cup in 2027?

Saudi Cup weekend 2027 is held on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 February at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, Riyadh, with the Saudi Cup itself run on the Saturday night. Prize money across the two days exceeds $39.6 million, of which $20 million is for the Saudi Cup.

What is the dress code for men at the Saudi Cup?

The Jockey Club permits a daglah or sayah, or a thobe with bisht, with agal and ghutra or shemagh; formal national dress; military dress uniform; or a suit with a jacket, with a tie required in the Royal Area (Grandstand and Parade Ring). Jeans, T-shirts and shorts are not permitted. The Court wears a lounge suit and tie.

What should women wear to the Saudi Cup?

The Jockey Club permits an abaya or thobe inspired by traditional Saudi fashion, a modest dress of appropriate length and fabric, the formal national dress of one’s country, military dress uniform, or a smart suit with a jacket. Jeans, T-shirts, shorts, branded clothing, and sheer, strapless, off-shoulder, halter-neck or spaghetti-strap garments are not permitted.

How do you get tickets to the Saudi Cup?

Racing tickets at King Abdulaziz Racecourse are booked through the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia’s page on webook.com, linked from jcsa.sa. Prices and sale dates for 2027 are to follow.

Where is the Saudi Cup held, and is there parking?

The Saudi Cup is run at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Al Jenadriyah, Riyadh, close to King Khalid International Airport. Free parking is plentiful. On Saudi Cup days, general admission guests follow the road signs to Gate 5, and grandstand guests use the main entrance gate.

Two colts locked together in the closing strides on the floodlit dirt at The Saudi Cup, Riyadh — V · The Closing Strides

The Court

The Saudi Cup is not the Court’s own. Boxes, entry to the enclosures and rooms in Riyadh are sought on a member’s behalf, and the Court arranges the whole of it: getting there, where to stay, and the table afterwards.

How one becomes a member is set out under Admission.