Saudi Cup is world’s richest horse race – with colossal £8m prize for the winner
The world’s richest horse race takes place in Saudi Arabia immediately – with the profitable prize a mega £8million.
First held in 2020, the Saudi Cup immediately turned the most costly race within the historical past of the game. And it simply retains getting richer, with the general prize pool nearly doubling to $37.5m (£28m) this yr.
The winner of the showpiece, held yearly in February on the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh and run over 1m1f, takes $10m of the sum – whereas ending tenth nonetheless baggage a cool £200k.
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The assembly started yesterday (February 23) with the International Jockeys’ Challenge, a four-race competitors that includes 14 top-class jockeys – cut up of seven males and 7 girls, regardless of Saudi’s conservative tradition.
Saffie Osborne, the 21-year-old daughter of former National Hunt jockey Jamie, has represented Great Britain. She already has 160 wins to her identify, regardless of her youthfulness.
Also featured among the many rivals are three-time Melbourne Cup champion Damien Oliver, America’s Katie Davies and reigning champion Luis Saez.
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Lisa Allpress of New Zealand returns having been the primary girl to win a flat race in Saudi Arabia when she competed in 2020. France’s Maryline Eon is concerned too.
As has been the case proper throughout the sporting spectrum, the Saudis have financially compelled their manner into relevancy – spending billions as a part of their alleged sportswashing marketing campaign.
The earlier world’s richest horse race was the Dubai Cup, holding that title from its inception in 1996 till 4 years in the past. The Everest in Australia, in the meantime, is the most costly turf race, with the opposite pair run on dust.