The new horse racing season will feature 69 race meetings, with 47 to be held at Al Rayyan racecourse and 22 at Al Uqda racecourse.
Doha: Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) is preparing to kick off the 2024-2025 racing season on Wednesday with the Al Beshariyah Cup Day at Al Rayyan sand track, under the sponsorship of the Social & Sport Contribution Fund (DAAM) and Longines.
The season was initially scheduled to start about two weeks earlier, but the start was postponed due to the ongoing renovation of the Al Rayyan turf track.
The new horse racing season will feature 69 race meetings, with 47 to be held at Al Rayyan racecourse and 22 at Al Uqda racecourse.
Five of the race days originally scheduled for Al Rayyan have been moved to Al Uqda due to the ongoing renovation of Al Rayyan turf track.
“We always strive for what is best and most suitable for the value and standing of Qatar’s horse racing, which has reached a global level,” QREC Racing Manager Abdullah Al Kubaisi said.
QREC Racing Manager Abdullah Al Kubaisi
“This is evident in Qatar’s sponsorship of some of the most prestigious and significant international race events, as well as the quality of races held in Doha, some of which see extensive international participation, especially during the H H The Amir Sword Festival. Some adjustments have been made to the new season programme due to the ongoing renovation of Al Rayyan turf track. Therefore, some race days in the early weeks will be moved from Al Rayyan to Al Uqda.”
According to the revised racing programme, Wednesday’s races will be conducted as planned on the sand track at Al Rayyan with no changes.
However, the race days initially scheduled for every Thursday on Al Rayyan turf track will be moved to Al Uqda turf track and each of them will be held over two days (Thursday and Saturday) each week.
There will be four, and at times five, races winding up with the cup race on Thursday, with the remaining four races taking place on Saturday.
This arrangement will apply to the first five race days of the season until Al Rayyan turf track is fully prepared.
The first race day on Al Rayyan turf track is scheduled for December 14, featuring the Late Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammed Al Thani Trophy Day.
After that, races will continue on Al Rayyan turf track as scheduled for the rest of the season.
The new season will feature 69 race days, with a total of 543 races throughout the season.
The season is now scheduled to conclude on May 7, 2025 with the Ain Khaled Cup Day.
Aside from these adjustments, the major race days throughout the season will remain unchanged as initially scheduled in the season’s programme.
The QREC’s biggest annual event, the H H The Amir Sword Festival, will begin on February 13, 2025 and will run for three days at Al Rayyan.
The final day, February 15, will host the season’s most prestigious and richest races, namely, the H H The Amir Sword, a Group 1 for purebred Arabians, and the H H The Amir Trophy, a QA Group 1 for thoroughbreds.
In addition to the H H The Amir Sword Festival, several major race meetings will be held throughout the season, including the Late Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammed Al Thani Trophy on December 14, the Qatar International Derby on December 27, the H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy on anuary 2, 2025, the H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy on 13 March, the H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani Rifle on January 18 and the Qatar Gold Sword on April 10.
