Horse racing season to kick-off on Oct 14th
HH Amir Sword Festival scheduled for Feb 18-21
THE Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) has announced schedule for the upcoming season which will begin on October 1 , 2020.
The official schedule, released on Wednesday, states a total of 9 horse racing meetings between October 2020 and April 2021.
The Al Ghariya Cup (run on dirt track) at Al Rayyan Park will kick off the season on October 1 and will be followed by the Al Gharafa Cup (turf) on October 15th.
Qatar’s blue riband threeday horse racing event His Highness Amir Sword Racing Festival has been scheduled from February 18 to 20, 2021.
The festival sees a total of eight races carrying a total prize-money of US .5mn.
Other prime events the Qatar Oaks and Qatar Derby have been scheduled for December 19-20, 2020, while HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy and
HH Sheikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy will be run on December 26, 2020, and January , 2021, respectively. Qatar Gold Sword meeting will be held on April 1, 2021.
In between race events for the following will be held: Wathnan Cup (Oct 21), Umm Bab Cup (Oct 22), Qatar Cup (Oct 28), Losail Cup (Oct 29), Umm Al Houl Cup (Nov ), Barzan Cup (Nov 5), Al Wukair Cup (Nov 11), Doha Cup (Nov 12), Muraikh Cup (Nov 18), Guineas Cups (Nov 19), Al Huwaila Cup (Nov 25).
The racing season also includes as many as 12 race meetings at the new Al Uqda Complex the stateowned horse racing facility in Al Khor being run by QREC in coordination with the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
The first race meeting at Al Uqda will be the Al Huwaila Cup Day on November 25, 2020. The biggest race meeting at the new facility will be the Al Shaqab Racing Trophy on February , 2021, with the six-furlong feature Thoroughbred sprint carrying total prize money of QR200,000. The race meeting will also see a sprint race each for local Thoroughbreds and Arabians.