DUBAI // Laura King is one of the most familiar faces on the UAE horse-racing scene.
As a producer and broadcaster for Dubai Racing Channel, the Briton keeps the public up to speed on all of the country’s competitive horses.
“That’s my job so I try to,” she said. “There are probably a few pure-bred Arabians that we don’t see that often that I’m not quite as informed on as I should be perhaps but that’s the aim. I’d like to think that I’ve got tabs on most of them.”
When King isn’t anchoring the broadcasts of Dubai Racing she can be found at Meydan Racecourse talking to key figures in the country’s racing scene, including Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on several occasions.
“I was so lucky to work for him and for him to speak to us is absolutely amazing. We’re very lucky he is so passionate about racing and also that he is quite approachable for a man with such a huge standing in the world.”
King originally moved to Dubai 10 years ago. After landing her first job she thought she would try it out for six months.
A decade later she is still here.
“I remember seeing Cigar winning the first Dubai World Cup [in 1996], and I’d wanted to come here ever since. I was quite young when that happened. I thought I’d come for six months and see what happens and I never wanted to leave. I’ve been very lucky. It’s been very good to me.
“Everyone is watching us here. You can’t beat that. You can’t beat the atmosphere on World Cup night when the eyes of the world are on Meydan and I’m in the centre of it. That’s fantastic.”
Despite a decade of experience, King insists she still has more to learn, and more people to meet.
“I’m still getting to know people. My favourite part of my job is interviewing people, getting to know owners, getting to know work riders, vets, farriers. I love doing all that.”
During her time in the Middle East, King says she has seen the UAE racing industry transformed into a global player.
“It’s absolutely huge, I mean you can go back 20, 30 years. The Maktoum family have been supporting racing in England and elsewhere, France, America, not only through sponsorship but through breeding and ownership. Abu Dhabi is getting more involved, the Sheikh Mansoor festival is taking Arabian racing to a whole new scale, taking it to places it has never been before.
“We’re lucky to have that kind of support and that the people behind it are willing to extend that outside of the UAE, not just keep it all here. They’re really willing to take the UAE name out there.”
Now that the local season is over, King will be covering UAE horses as they compete around the world – most notably at the Kentucky Derby, which UAE audiences will tune in to early on Sunday.
“What’s really focusing my attention is the Kentucky Derby. We’ve got a horse going from here, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa, Mubtaahij. [That’s] the one I’m really looking forward to at the moment because it would be a terrific story for the UAE.” No horse from the UAE has yet won the Kentucky Derby.
nalremeithi@thenational.ae
