Meydan Racecourse is set in a racing district covering over 1,500 acres in the heart of Meydan City in the Ras Al Khor area of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The racecourse was originally unveiled in 2007 but, since 2010, has been the home of the US$10 million Dubai World Cup, bringing it to the attention of the racing world. Between January and March each year, Meydan Racecourse stages the Dubai World Cup Carnival, a series of eleven race meetings culminating in the running of the Dubai World Cup itself.
Course Characteristics
The round course, on turf, at Meydan is a left-handed oval, a mile and a half in circumference with a home straight of two and a quarter furlongs. Sprint races, such as the Al Quoz Sprint, start on a chute that joins the round course at the top of the home straight. The all-weather, Tapeta runs inside the turf course and, as such, is slightly narrower and shorter, with a circumference of less than nine furlongs and a home straight of two furlongs.
Track Facts
In Arabic, ‘Meydan’ means ‘a meeting place to compete’.
Dubai Millenium, in 2000, recorded the fastest time (1:59.50) in the history of the Dubai World Cup.
Since the first Dubai World Cup meeting, at Nad Al Sheba in 1996, Godolphin has won a third of the races run on the night.
Animal Kingdom, winner of the Dubai World Cup in 2013, subsequently started 5/4 favourite for the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, but could finish only eleventh of the thirteen runners.