The 2026-27 Riyadh racing season opened at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Friday 16 October, with the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) racing on both days of the weekend. In a preview published on 15 October, the JCSA said the season runs until 17 April 2027 and includes The Saudi Cup meeting on 5 and 6 February 2027.
The programme was set out in a JCSA announcement of 13 August. It carries SAR236.3m in prize money across 50 race days over six months, of which SAR197.8m is for the Major Cups; TradeArabia converted the total to about $62.95m. Racing moves to two days a week, every Friday and Saturday, with 21 feature race days headlined by seven weekends, among them the Crown Prince Cup, the Saudi Cup and the King Abdulaziz Cup. In 2025-26, according to the JCSA’s announcement of 21 September 2025, Riyadh’s 50 meetings were held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and the season ended for the first time with The Saudi Cup meeting, a change the JCSA made to accommodate Ramadan.
Where the money moves
Seven domestic races get higher purses. The Group 3 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup rises from SAR1.5m to SAR2m and the Listed Crown Prince Cup from SAR1m to SAR1.5m. The King Saud Cup and the Listed King Faisal Cup each go from SAR800,000 to SAR1m, the Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Cup and the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Cup from SAR700,000 to SAR800,000, and the Listed King Abdulaziz Racecourse Championship from SAR300,000 to SAR500,000.
Two new series are aimed at locally bred horses. The Riyadh Crown Series, worth SAR6m over three legs for colts, geldings and fillies, starts with a 1400m race for two-year-olds on 4 December, continues with a SAR500,000 Open over 1400m on 22 January and ends with the 1600m King Abdulaziz Cup, a domestic Group 1 worth SAR5m, on 12 March 2027. The SAR1.53m Riyadh Sword Series for local-bred fillies runs from the SAR300,000 Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Cup for two-year-olds on 5 December, through a SAR300,000 1000 Guineas over 1400m on 8 January, to a 1600m Fillies Mile on Saudi Cup day worth $250,000 and open to local and imported fillies.
The Asian Pattern Committee has upgraded the 1600m Saudi Derby, run on Saudi Cup day, from Group 3 to Group 2. The Founder’s Cups move to a new date and carry SAR10.9m, which the JCSA says makes it the richest day of racing outside The Saudi Cup; the announcement gives the new date in incomplete form. The JCSA lists The Saudi Cup itself at $20m. Prince Bandar bin Khalid AlFaisal, chairman of the boards of the JCSA and the Saudi Equestrian Authority, thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their support for the equestrian sector and said the programme carried measurable initiatives aimed at a stronger and more competitive season.
The opening weeks
The JCSA’s preview of the opening weekend listed Saturday’s first race, over 1200m, and a 2000m Open as worth SAR120,000 each, and a 1600m Open as worth SAR90,000. Its season page lists meetings including the General Intelligence Presidency Cup on 23 October, the Ministry of Defense Cup on 6 November, the UAE President Cup on 20 November and The Crown Prince Cup on 27 November. The same page gives the season as 16 October 2026 to 17 April 2027 in its introduction but 16 October 2026 to 14 March 2027 in its course selector, and does not reconcile the two; the August announcement gives 17 April.
Equanine’s reading
- Moving from three racing days a week to two while keeping 50 race days stretches the Riyadh season to April, two months beyond last season’s February finish. Trainers and overseas stables planning winter campaigns in Saudi Arabia will need to budget for a longer stay.
- The new money is aimed at local-bred horses and domestic cups through the Riyadh Crown and Riyadh Sword series, which supports Saudi breeding and ownership beyond the international Saudi Cup weekend.
- The Saudi Derby’s promotion to Group 2 and a $250,000 Fillies Mile open to imported fillies give overseas owners more reasons to send three-year-olds to the Saudi Cup meeting.
