Saudi to rival Dubai with $17m horse racing championship

Saudi Arabia has announced a new horse racing championship with prizes totalling more than $17m that would make it one of the sport’s richest events.

The King Abdulaziz Horse Championship will rival the Kentucky Derby in size and attract competitors from the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, the government’s General Sports Authority said late on Tuesday, without saying when the first run would be held.

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— الهيئة العامة للرياضة (@gsaksa) February 6, 2018

Riyadh is keen to develop its sports industry as part of reforms to diversify the economy beyond oil exports and create a more modern, dynamic society.

The horse championship was a way for the desert kingdom to share its “historic and cultural legacy” with the world, the sports authority said in the statement.

Read: Saudi-owned Arrogate wins Dubai World Cup

Last year’s Dubai World Cup offered a $10m prize for its top race, although media reported prizes for the entire event totalled $30m. The 2018 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in Florida had a $16m purse.

Read: Dubai to lose world’s richest horse race crown?