47 race days at QREC..New season to kick off on Wednesday
Mdmar – DOHA -QREC
The Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) has announced the 2019/2020 racing season calendar. The start of the new season at the QREC Al Rayyan Park will be this Wednesday with the first race meeting, Owners Cup Day, which will feature eight races on sand, covering various distances and horse categories.
The new racing season will continue up to Thursday, 23 April 2020, which will see the 47th race meeting, Al Karana Cup Day, before the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
The season will feature several prestigious international meetings and most of them will be staged, as usual, on Wednesdays and Thursdays. They will be run on sand and turf, depending on the calendar approved by the QREC management.
Feature races
QREC CEO Nasser bin Sherida Al Kaabi shed light on the new racing season. “The QREC management, led by QREC Chairman His Excellency Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi, ensured the calendar included races suiting horse categories”, he said, “In line with the QREC’s strategy, the calendar focuses on race variety, enhancing racing standards, fostering Arabian racing and promoting the equestrian culture in the society at large.”
“The His Highness The Amir Sword Festival will be in late February 2020”, he said highlighting the most prestigious races of the season, “The three-day Festival is the highlight of the season’s events. It will feature some top-quality races, including The HH The Amir Sword (Gr1 PA) for four-year-old and older pure Arabians over 2400m with USD 1,000,000 as prize money. The coveted title is targeted by all owners, trainers and jockeys. There will be other prestigious races, including the His Highness The Amir Trophy (Gr1) for Thoroughbreds over 2400m with USD 1,000,000 as prize money. International runners competed in this race in the previous seasons, which demonstrates its top quality. The finale of the Festival will also feature the His Highness The Amir Silver Sword for four-year-old pure Arabians over 1850m with a purse of USD 250,000 and the His Highness The AmirShalfa for four-year-old and olderThoroughbreds over 2000m with USD 250,000 as prize money.”
Al Biddah Mile
“Another feature event of the Festival is Al Biddah Mile”, added Al Kaabi, “This Group 2 race will be run over 1600m and will be reserved for three-year-old Thoroughbreds with prize money of USD 250,000. In fact, the His Highness The Amir Sword Festival is the most valuable event of the Flat racing season in Qatar. It plays hostto the best flat horses from Qatar as well as drawing big-name runners from other countries to compete against each other. Other valuable races over the three days include the Gr2 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup, the Gr3 Dukhan Sprint,the Gulf Cup (PA),Al Rayyan Breeders Cup, the Purebred Arabian Sprint Cup, the Al Zubara Trophy for local pure Arabians. All races of the Festival will be on turf.”
International Derby
“There will be other important race days, including the Qatar International Derby and the Late Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammed Al Thani Trophy Day (Qatar National Day)in December this year, the His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Cup and Trophy Day and the His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al ThaniTrophy Day in January 2020 and the Qatar Gold Sword Day on 2 April 2020”, concluded QREC CEO.
About QREC
The Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) was established in the early 1960s and was officially made public in 1975. QREC is mandated with representing, promoting and advancing equine and equestrian initiatives from grassroots programmes to the international arena. Focused on equestrian sport and horse welfare, QREC is dedicated on promoting Qatar as a world-class hub for horse racing and a leader in the pure Arabian breed.
QREC works in collaboration with local bodies dedicated to achieving excellence in planning, regulating and developing Qatar’s racing industry to reflect the world’s best practices.
By harnessing innovation and excellence and driven by professionalism and integrity, QREC hopes to bring the joy of racing and breeding to the wider public.www.qrec.gov.qa
