by Andre Sanchez

The Middle East is very supportive of many sports, and horse racing in Dubai is extremely well organized and planned; it could certainly teach the west a thing or two.

As Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nayhan, the chairman of the Emirates Racing Authority stated when Dubai hosted the 31^st Asian racing Conference in January 2007, the horse and the sport of horse racing has always been an important part of the culture and heritage of the people of the United Arab Emirates".

The Middle East and horses have always been associated with each other, and Arabian thoroubreds are well known world wide to be associated with horse racing at its highest level. Horse racing in Dubai is the best racing in the world, and the high purses draw the very best of the top horses and jockeys from around the world. Not only that, but Dubai racecourses are regarded as the places to be; if you are any kind of celebrity at all you must be seen and photographed at a Dubai meeting.

It is not all glitter and gold, though. The planning and organization of horse racing in Dubai is of the very highest quality, and the financial and investment skills of the Emirates have been used to promote racing and develop it to the very highest level. In fact the richest horse race in the world is run in Dubai, the Dubai Word Cup, with a purse of six million American dollars, and has been raced since 1996 by four year old thoroughbreds over ten furlongs

The Dubai International Racing Carnival attracts the world’s top racing personalities and horses, and provides nine weeks of top class horse racing every year. Featuring the Dubai Triple Crown and, of course, the World Cup, this takes place 10 minutes from the center of Dubai, at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse. Laid in 1986, this world famous left handed course boasts both a dirt track and a grass track, and shares its venue with the Nad Al Sheba Golf Club. Have a round of golf in the morning then off to the races!

Alternatively, have a tour of the racecourse and the stables. You can get a close-up look at the first class facilities with a morning ’Rising with the Stars’ tour where you meet the horses who are top of the bill. This is a must for any horse racing fan. You are shown round the training grounds and the farriers’ workshops where the horses are shod, and also get a look at the jockeys’ rooms and opulent hospitality areas. The whole tour takes over three hours and ends with a visit to the trophy room, the Godolphin Gallery. The Godolphin Arabian, of course, was one of the three horses that founded the modern thoroughbred racing stock.

The love of horses and equestrian sports in Dubai is exemplified by recent record-breaking projects that include the Plantation Equestrian and Polo Club that is the biggest equestrian and riding facility in the world, based in Dubailand with a polo club and academy, dressage, show jumping and riding school, and also the Arabian Ranches, a specially designed residential center for people involved in equestrian sports.

One aspect of horseracing in Dubai, that will bemuse most visitors, is the absence of bookmakers. Gambling is illegal in Dubai and there is no on-course betting allowed. People still love the sport for its own sake, and thoroughly enjoy their day at the races. For no charge each visitor can pick the six horses they think will win each race for a prize of up to six thousand dollars for the nearest. All they do is enter their choices on the ‘pick six’ form and hand it in about ten minutes before the first race starts.

This is an indication of their interest in racing as a sport. Do you think horse racing would be so popular in the west without gambling?

Horse Racing In Dubai: The Cream of World Racing was originally published at http://www.globallifenow.com