Dubai: Meydan, the iconic new racecourse which opened last February, will host 20 fixtures in its first full season in 2010-11 as racing continues to grow in the UAE.
The strong demand for more races at the Nad Al Sheba-based facility, which boasts an all-weather and turf track, has resulted in an increase in the total number of fixtures from 46 to 50 for the new season.
Meydan staged 10 meetings between February and March.
The racing's fixtures list is compiled by the Emirates Racing Authority and was approved by its Chairman, Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
Jebel Ali, the UAE's family racecourse, will host 11 meetings in all including the opening meeting on November 5. Last season it staged 14 race meetings.
Winter Meet
Following the successful launch of the Meydan racecourse in February, racing will return with the start of the Winter Meet at Meydan, with the first of six fixtures to take place on November 11.This will be followed by the new Spring Meet, which will run across three meetings, with the first race on January 6. The ever popular Dubai International Racing Carnival will run over 10 meetings, with the first to be conducted on January 13.
Meydan Masters, which was launched in 2010 and won by jockey Richard Hills, returns on February 17 and 18, and will feature two races each day.
Super Thursday will return on March 3 with an additional fixture slated for the week after on March 10.
The 16th running of the $10 million Dubai World Cup (Group 1) will be held on Saturday, March 26, 2011 and rounds up the season at Meydan.
The closing day of the racing season will fall on March 25, 2011, the Friday before the Dubai World Cup and offers a strategic opportunity to highlight another important UAE racing facility to the international audience who will be converging in Dubai.
The opening weekend for the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club will see the first of 15 scheduled fixtures for the season run on November 7, 2010.
The club, which stages most races for Purebred Arabians, will stage three less meetings this season compared to the 18 held last term.