Dubai Racing Club has announced their partnership with Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, whereby winners of the Gr1 Dubai World Cup, G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, Gr1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic and Gr1 Dubai Turf will gain automatic entry to the Breeders’ Cup meeting.
Eyes on the prize (Pic – DRC)
With this move, the Dubai World Cup meeting – set to take place on Saturday, 5 April 2025 – held at the iconic Meydan Racecourse and known as the world’s most spectacular race day, further cements its status as one of the premier global horseracing events, attracting elite horses and connections from around the world.
Sheikh Rashed Bin Dalmook Bin Juma Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Racing Club, commented: “This is a significant development for international horseracing, further strengthening the positioning of the Dubai World Cup and the Breeders’ Cup – two of the most important international meetings on the horseracing calendar.”
“We are delighted to enter this partnership and thank the Breeders’ Cup team for expanding their Challenge Series, allowing four winners from the Dubai World Cup 2025 meeting to compete in America later this year and we look forward to welcoming winners from the Breeders’ Cup 2025 at the Dubai World Cup 2026, in March next year.”
Winners of the Dubai World Cup (Gr1), Dubai Golden Shaheen (Gr1), Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (Gr1), and Dubai Turf (Gr1) will earn automatic spots in corresponding Breeders’ Cup races:
- Dubai World Cup → Breeders’ Cup Classic
- Dubai Golden Shaheen → Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint
- Dubai Sheema Classic → Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf
- Dubai Turf → Breeders’ Cup Mile
This year’s Breeders’ Cup is being held at Del Mar, California, on 31 October – 1 November.
Drew Fleming, President and CEO of Breeders’ Cup Limited, said: “Breeders’ Cup Limited is very pleased to expand our international Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series with the addition of the Dubai World Cup, the Dubai Golden Shaheen, the Dubai Sheema Classic, and the Dubai Turf.
“This partnership with our friends at the Dubai Racing Club speaks to continued progress made toward the global unification of our great sport and rewards international contenders for competing at the highest level. We appreciate the spirit of collaboration
and the shared pursuit of excellence that brought this opportunity about and look forward to welcoming four Breeders’ Cup Challenge winners from Meydan to Del Mar.”
Included in the benefits of the arrangement between Breeders’ Cup Limited and the Dubai Racing Club, the winners of the four Breeders’ Cup races will receive an automatic starting position and free entry into the corresponding races at the 2026 Dubai World Cup meeting.
As part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders’ Cup will pay the entry fees for the winners of the Dubai quartet to start in their respective divisions at the 2025 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Breeders’ Cup will also provide a travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program by the pre-entry deadline of Oct. 20, 2025, to receive the rewards.
For more information, visit dubairacingclub.com and breederscup.com
- Media release by the Dubai Racing Club on Monday, 17 February.
