(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: The 2023-2024 racing season, which has come to an end recently, saw several exceptional figures,demonstrating the commitment of the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) management, led by Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi, to reach the level that befits the significant interest in Qatar's equestrian sport, the constant pursuit of developing races and maintaining Qatar's horse racing on the global racing map by applying the highest standards implemented in the world's renowned and prestigious racecourses.
These figures further reflect the advantage of the availability of the Al Rayyan and the Al Uqda racecourses to host races throughout the season according to the programme developed well ahead of the start of the season.
According to the final statistics issued by the QREC Racing Department, a great effort was made during the last season. Work will continue to ensure that the new season 2024-2025 will meet the expectations of being filled of strong competition among owners, trainers and jockeys and continued raising of racing standards.
QREC Racing Manager Abdulla Al Kubaisi said:“We organised 67 race days during the last season, including 45 on both turf and sand at Al Rayyan and the rest on both turf and sand at Al Uqda. All went well as per the programme, which takes into account the start and end times of the season based on the weather conditions and the ratings of Arabians and Thoroughbreds to ensure largest possible number of horses have the opportunity to run in races, which suit their ages and abilities.”
“The season saw 560 races, including 403 races in 45 race days at Al Rayyan Racecourse from 18 October 2023 until 25 April 2024, and 157 races in 22 race days at Al Uqda from 18 November 2023 until 2 March 2024”, added Al Kubaisi.
“The season had 7,881 runners, including 5,754 at Al Rayyan and 2,127 Al Uqda. The total of the horses who made those runs is 1,227 horses, representing the total number of horses officially registered and actually ran at Al Rayyan and Al Uqda. Many horses normally run on several occasions throughout the season as deemed appropriate by their respective owners and trainers.”
Abdulla Al Kubaisi
Speaking about the prize money, Abdulla Al Kubaisi said:“The 2023-2024 season saw the prize money reaching an unprecedented figure in QREC's history, as the total prize money reached 87,510,520 Qatari Riyals, of which 78,030,520 million were in the races held at Al Rayyan and the rest for the races held at Al Uqda."
"We have reached this figure as a result of the significant increase in the prize money of the H H The Amir Sword Festival, which reached $10 million for the second season in a row, which contributed to raising the standard, enhancing the stature of the Festival in the region and attracting several runners from European and Asian countries. For the first time, the minimum of prize money of a feature race was QR120,000,” he added
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