Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia

Total Performance Data (TPD) has signed a multi-year deal with the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA). The tracking system was launched during the two-day Saudi Cup meeting. TPD's agreement, the first for the company in the Middle East, means the data specialists now operate in five countries throughout the world, with the two racecourses in the territory, the King Abdulaziz Racetrack and King Khalid Racetrack, the 42nd and 43rd tracks they have a presence at globally. In addition, the new deal also means that both on-course and off-course broadcasters...

Equine MediRecord, a Kildare-based software platform, has secured a long-term contract with the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA). An Irish trade delegation traveled to the JCSA to announce the news. The platform will support the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup, which was elevated to Group 1 status for the first time in 2022. The Equine MediRecord platform allows for the full veterinary history of the horse to be recorded securely, ensuring the best possible horse welfare, as well as aiding with crucial anti-doping procedures. In addition, the platform will provide...

In addition to the previously announced allocation of Group 1 status to the $20-million Saudi Cup and Group 3 status to five undercard Thoroughbred races, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia revealed in a press conference on Thursday some key purse increases for undercard races. The 2022 Saudi Cup meeting, which will take place on Feb. 25 and 26, will be worth $35.1-million, making it the world's richest race meeting. Prizemoney for the G3 Neom Turf Cup and the G3 1351 Turf Sprint have each been boosted by $500,000, and...

A year ago, a brigade of American runners dominated results in the inaugural running of the $20-million Saudi Cup, taking four of the top five placings in the world's richest race. Another top-level group of U.S.-based horses are set to return to Riyadh for the second running of the 1 1/8-miles race Feb. 20. Leading the group is Charlatan (Speightstown), who returned from a layoff to record a scintillating victory in the Dec. 26 GI Malibu S. last month. The newly turned 4-year-old worked six furlongs in 1:12.60 (1/5) at...

Two days after the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) announced that it was withholding payment of the winner's share of the purse for the $20-million Saudi Cup won by Maximum Security (New Year's Day), the colt's owners issued a statement which called the Saudi's actions something that was unprecedented in the annals of racing. The statement was signed by Gary West and Coolmore. Just nine days after Maximum Security won the Saudi Cup, his trainer Jason Servis was indicted on federal charges involving horse doping. The Servis indictment led...

The matter of whether or not Maximum Security (New Year's Day) should be disqualified from his victory in the $20-million Saudi Cup has been made out to be much more complicated than it is. Did any illegal substances show up in any of the battery of tests conducted on Maximum Security before and after the Saudi Cup? If the answer is no, there is no justification for not paying owners Gary and Mary West and partners the $10 million due to the winner. If the answer is yes, then disqualify...

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) announced Monday that it will continue to withhold payment from the $20-million Saudi Cup to the connections of Maximum Security (New Year's Day) as it continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the horse and former trainer Jason Servis. While that money is being withheld, a decision has been made to go ahead and pay the owners who had horses finish second through 10th in the Feb. 29 race. Shortly after Saudi Cup, Servis was among 27 people indicted on federal charges involving the...

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia has rejected the appeals brought by jockey Mike Smith against the severity and length of suspensions handed down by stewards for a pair of infractions on the Saudi Cup program Feb. 29. The Technical Committee of the JCSA did agree to allow the local authority of the appellant to determine the dates of the suspension. Smith received two suspensions totaling 11 race days on the Saudi Cup program Feb. 29. He was handed a two-day ban for failing to weigh in following a fifth-place...

Back home in California after finishing second aboard Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) in the inaugural running of the $20-million Saudi Cup, jockey Mike Smith said the penalties handed down to him for excessive use of the whip were "absurd." Under rules enacted just before the running of the Saudi Cup card, riders were limited to striking a horse no more than 10 times during a race. The Saudi stewards ruled that Smith struck Midnight Bisou 14 times and also was guilty of hitting his mount with no regard for the...

When Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al-Faisal, chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, unveiled his plans for the world's richest horse race last summer in Saratoga, I duly covered the event for TDN. But it wasn't until months later that the idea started percolating in my head that maybe I would actually go see the race for myself. As a kid from New Jersey who loves to travel the world and grew up reading Black Stallion novels, there is something almost mystical about Saudi Arabia--a country that seemed as...

The inaugural $29.2-million Saudi Cup card at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Feb. 29 drew 66 runners from overseas, including 21 Group/Grade 1 winners, HRH Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal, Chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, announced on Wednesday. The full list of runners for the eight-race Saturday card have won a combined 32 top-level races. Some of the big names in the $20-million Saudi Cup include:  recent GI Pegasus World Cup winner Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) who squares off with Bob Baffert stablemate and MGISW McKinzie...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - The countdown to next year's inaugural Saudi Cup officially began Wednesday evening with a gala organized by the race's officials in the walking ring at the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds in Saratoga. The race, scheduled to be run next Feb. 29 at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, will be run over 1800 meters of the dirt track and will be worth $20 million--making it the world's richest race. The field will have a maximum of 14 runners, with $10 million going to the winner. Hosted by television...