2026-27 Riyadh Racing Season program released

RIYADH: The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia has announced dates for the 2026-27 Riyadh Racing Season, along with a number of new features highlighted by the introduction of a colts and fillies series.

Getting underway on Oct. 16 and concluding on April 17 next year, the season will now feature the Riyadh Crown Series open to colts, geldings and fillies, a three-leg event for local-bred horses.

The SR6 million ($1.6 million) series kicks off on Dec. 4 with a $133,000, 1,400-meter race for 2-year-olds before the 3-year-old competitors take in another 1,400-meter Open worth $133,000 on Jan. 22, 2027. It concludes by a step up to the 1,600-meter Domestic Group 1 King Abdulaziz Cup with a purse of $1.3 million on March 12.

Local-bred fillies will take part in the $410,000 Riyadh Sword Series which gets underway with the Dec. 5 Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Cup for 2-year-olds worth $80,000. The event moves on to the $80,000 1,000 Guineas over 1,400 meters on Jan. 8 for 3-year-old fillies, before reaching the grand finale with the 1,600-meter Fillies Mile on Saudi Cup day, Feb. 6, which carries a purse of $250,000 and is open to both local and imported fillies.

Elsewhere on the program the usual highlights of the Riyadh Racing Season feature prominently, with enhancements including a boost in prize money to the G3 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup from $400,000 to $530,000, and the Listed Crown Prince Cup from $270,000 to $400,000.

The King Saud Cup and the Listed King Faisal Cup both benefit from an increase in prize money from $213,000 to $270,000, while the Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Cup and the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Cup are elevated from $186,000 to $213,000 each. Finally, the Listed King Abdulaziz Racecourse