RIYADH: The richest horse race in the sport’s history – the $20 million Saudi Cup – is all set to have its first staging on Saturday at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack.
The race has a maximum field of 14 runners and will be run over nine furlongs (1,800m) on dirt. The prize for the winning horse will be $10 million, second place $3.5 million, with the remaining horses down to 10th place sharing another $6.5 million between them.
Saudi Arabia’s big day of racing takes place four weeks after the Pegasus World Cup and a month before the Dubai World Cup.
Meanwhile, horseracing media rights agency HBA Media announced Wednesday that the race will be broadcast to over 100 territories, with a potential audience reach in excess of 400 million.
The Saudi Cup is being distributed via a bespoke one-hour programme titled, The Golden Hour, or through a five-hour world feed package produced by IMG and managed by HBA Media.
In India, DSport, the premium sports channel from the Discovery network, will air the Saudi Cup.
Other Asian territories Asia are covered by Shanghai TV, Wuhan TV, Beijing TV (China), The Green Channel (Japan) and Eleven Sports (Taiwan), while a deal with FBC ensures coverage in Fiji.
Fox Sports 1, with 83 million subscribers, take on an exclusive linear deal to broadcast The Golden Hour, that features the Saudi Cup alongside a combination of on-event and lifestyle content, with TVG covering the full undercard. FloSports provides the US with bumper OTT coverage, which is complemented with additional coverage secured through TSN in Canada, and Sports Max addressing the Caribbean.
For the first time, Twitter and HBA Media join forces to distribute the Saudi Cup to Twitter’s audience in the MENA region. The Saudi showcase will also gain visibility in the Middle East through an exclusive agreement with Saudi TV, who are the host broadcaster to the domestic audience.
Sky Sports Racing and Racing TV will provide coverage in the UK. Virgin Media will broadcast in Ireland. The channels have also undertaken on-air marketing campaigns to reinforce their international horseracing schedules.
In Europe, broadcasters include Polsat (Poland), S Sport (Turkey), Match TV (Russia), Sport Deutschland (Germany), Silknet (Georgia) with Teleippica (the Italian Racing Channel) and Eleven Sports providing coverage in Italy. Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Herzegovina come under the helm of Sport Klub.
ESPN will deliver the Saudi Cup in Spanish to its established audience across Latin America. Meanwhile, 48 countries in Africa will be served by leading broadcaster SuperSport.
Racing.com, Australia’s free-to-air horseracing network, will broadcast The Golden Hour. Further exposure has also been secured with Sports Unlimited, SNTV and Reuters – providing the Saudi Cup with global recognition in over 100 territories.
Tom Ryan, Saudi Cup Strategic & International Racing director, said: “We are pleased that so many people around the world will have the chance to follow the Saudi Cup on Saturday February 29. This is an important event in Saudi Arabia’s evolving society and will act as a launch pad to further development of our growing racing industry.”
Henry Birtles, CEO of HBA Media, noted: “The advent of the Saudi Cup represents a huge step forward in the world of top-class International Racing. These are exciting times and HBA Media is thrilled to be a part of The Kingdom’s great new venture into the sport.
“Year one broadcast distribution has successfully reflected the significance of this event and we look forward to building on early achievements as Saudi Arabia establishes itself as a global horseracing destination in the years ahead.”
Frank Sale, managing director of HBA Media, added: “These cutting-edge broadcast packages produced by IMG with an expert team of talent, led by Nick Luck, have empowered HBA Media to secure the world’s most valuable race with world-wide recognition.
“We look forward to the inaugural Saudi Cup and working with the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia and the wider team to ensure continual growth for this landmark raceday.”
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