DUBAI // Frank Gabriel has ruled out the Dubai World Cup meeting becoming a two-day event because the Dubai Racing Club executive feels that the move would compromise the quality of the UAE’s biggest racing fixture.
The Dubai World Cup meeting on Saturday comprises eight thoroughbred races and a Purebred Arabian race on a US$30 million (nearly Dh110.2m) card that culminates in the world’s most valuable contest: the $10m World Cup.
The World Cup was first run in 1996 at Nad Al Sheba with five supporting races that included in different guises the Dubai Turf, the Dubai Golden Shaheen, Godolphin Mile and Dubai Kahayla Classic. There was also a mile handicap.
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The Dubai Sheema Classic on turf was added in 1998, while the UAE Derby was inaugurated in 2000. The Al Quoz Sprint was new to the programme in 2007, and the Dubai Gold Cup followed two seasons later.
“We have talked about the two days,” the executive director of racing said.
“We have looked at it and we have studied the Breeders’ Cup, but we are such a unique place and for the event we do we might lose a little bit.
“You have to look at your athletes: your horses and jockeys. You need them for your show. There would be a concern that if you start diluting and spreading out races whether that quality would be there.
“You have to have the races for them to run in. I think we have the right mixture of races. We have looked at it and said, for now, we see it as one great day.”
The inaugural World Cup meeting took place on a Wednesday, and there have been calls in the past for the World Cup to possibly move to a Thursday to allow for the weekend, or even Friday.
Gabriel suggested that were the World Cup meeting to split, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 crowd slated each year for Meydan would still attend on the night of the World Cup.
That was not entirely the case at the Breeders’ Cup meeting at Keeneland in October when 50,155 attended the Breeders’ Cup Classic card on the Saturday, with 44,947 at the racecourse for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff fixture the previous day.
The figures were far more pronounced the year before when the Breeders’ Cup was staged at Santa Anita with 61,114 flocking to the track to see Bayern slam UAE Derby winner Toast Of New York and California Chrome in the Classic.
Just 37,205 turned up on the Friday.
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