QREC New Season kicks off on Wednesday..Racing thrill at best
Races of 1st and 2nd meetings to be distributed
Doha – Qatar
Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club(QREC) management, led by QREC Chairman, His Excellency Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi, is gearing up for a brand new season of exciting horse racing as the action shifts to the Al Rayyan racetrack starting Wednesday, October 31. Preparations continued after the start of the new season was postponed due to the heavy rains across Doha last week. The new season is expected to be rich with thrilling racing, fulfilling QREC’s vision and strategy of enhancing Qatar’s excellent standing in the horse racing world and maintaining the remarkable reputation of Al Rayyan Park.
The Al Ruwais Cup Day, originally the third meeting in the official programme, will kick off the 2018-19 season on Wednesday. With a mix of sprints and middle distance raceson dirt, the eight-race card should be the perfect meeting to get the horses, the trainers and the jockeys going. The races of the first and the second race meetings will be distributed throughout the season appropriately in terms of horses and distances.
The feature race, for Purebred Arabians, carries a total prize money of QR 100,000 while the three maiden races have a prize pot of QR 45,000 each and the other four races ranging between QR 50,000 and QR 60,000.
The Late Rabiah Saad Al Kaabi Cup Daywill follow on turf on Thursday, 1 November. The card will include as many as 11 races after having added two races. The added races are Race 10 – originally Race 1 of the programme’s second race meeting – for Local Thoroughbred Maiden Plate (3 Year Olds) (1,200m) with a purse of QR 45,000 and Race 11 – originally Race 5 of the programme’s second race meeting; a Purebred Arabian Plate (3 Year Olds) (1,600m), which carries a purse of QR 60,000.
International races
The new season includes some prestigious international races, culminating with the HH The Emir’s Sword Festival, which will be held in February 2019, with the two USD 1million features, the HH The Emir’s Trophy (Gr1) for Thoroughbreds and the HH The Emir’s Sword (Gr1 PA) for the Purebred Arabians, as the highlights of the three-day flagship Festival.
The HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy Day is also scheduled for December 2018 while the HH Sheikh Abdulla Bin Khalifa Al Thani Cups and Trophy Dayand the HH The Emir’s Sword Trials Day will be held in January 2019.
The Qatar Oaks, the Derby and the The Late Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammed Al Thani Trophy (Qatar National Day Trophy) meetings will be held in December 2018, while the Qatar Gold Sword and the Qatar Gold Trophy Day will be held in April 2019.
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
