Qatar Horse racing season kicks off with the Al Ghariya Cup on Wednesday

 

Season kicks off on Wednesday

Renewed racing thrill

55 race days at Al Rayyan and 15 at Al Uqda

Challenge starts with 1^st meeting featuring Al Ghariya Cup

 

Doha, Monday 11 October 2021: Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club(QREC) management, led by QREC Chairman, His Excellency Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi, has added the final touches before launching the 2020/2021 racing season. The new season promises to be rich with thrilling racing, fulfilling QREC’s vision and strategy of maintaining and enhancing Qatar’s excellent standing in the horse racing world while fulfilling the related international standards and requirements. 

The kick-off will be on Wednesday with the first race meeting featuring Al Ghariya Cup at the sand track of the Al Rayyan Racecourse. The turf track will host the second meeting featuring Al Hamla Cup the following day.

The 2020/2021 season will boast a new record in the number of race days with 70 race meeting to be held throughout the season. The Al Uqda Racecourse has been added to the official racing programme following the successful trials last seasonand ensuring that it is ready to host races with the availability of all the necessary logistics. With 55 race days at Al Rayyan and 15 at Al Uqda, the new season will continue for eight months, starting Wednesday, 14 October 2021 and up to the last meeting on Thursday, 5 May 2022.

 Issa Al Mohannadi: New season typifies QREC’s vision and strategy for racing development

QREC Chairman, His Excellency Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi pointed out that preparations for the new season began immediately after the end of the last season. “I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to the QRECRacing Department for their continuous efforts since the end of the last season”, he said,“to prepare the programme of the new season, which materialises the QREC’s vision and strategy of developing and promoting races and paying attention to international races, which bring international runners to Doha. The new programme, in terms of both quality and quantity, ensures diversity and opportunities for all, which is a key goal for QREC. No doubt,with 70 race daysat both Al Rayyan and Al Uqda, we have brought about aquantum leap in the history of QREC. The addition of Al Uqda Racecourse to the programme will enhance local races and is a step in favour of the QREC’s strategy of boosting the standard of local bred horses”

 

“Normally, the H.H. The Amir Sword Festival will be the focus of attention, as it is most important event organised by QREC every season. As usual, the Festival will be held over three days in February at Al Rayyan turf track. A new positive thing this season is that the programme with this number of race meetings allows participation on a larger scale by all horse owners, trainers and jockeys, whether the pioneering generationg who have contributed to the progress of this sport which we cherish, the middle generation who have proved themselves in the recent years, or the new generation who are gaining experience to continue this development in future. We see this as a beginning for more to come to take Qatar’s horseracing to the highest international levels and we wish everyone all the best in the new season”, added His Excellency the QREC Chairman.

 Bader Al Darwish: The programme meets aspirations and Al Uqda valuable addition

The QREC Acting CEO, Bader Mohammed Al Darwish, lauded the racing programme, which was developed to reflect the QREC management’s keenness on continuous development and achieving the general interest. “This season’s programme is distinguished indeed,” he noted, “It has been well received by the horse owners and trainers through their meetings with the Racing Department. It has seen a number of changes, which allow opportunities for all. The dates of certain major race days have been amended in order to maximise the number of international runners and, consequently, enhance the international standing of Qatar’s international racing events.”

 “On the other hand, the new season will see the maximum possible use of the turf and the sand tracks ofAl Uqda Complex, byofficially organising 15 races there. We have met all the necessary requirements and needs for holding races there, especially as they are technically qualified to host top-class racing. We expect that the new season will see more challenges among the various participants, who undoubtedly have done well in preparing their horses, and will gradually get their runners to their top condition for the major events. This, in turn, enhances our expectations such as the Qatar Goodwood Festival and the last Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, which was concluded a few days ago”, added the QREC Acting CEO.