Ready for a trip to the races? Huge hats aren’t necessary, but you’ll still have a load of fun this month as the Dubai World Cup Carnival – the lead up to the richest day of horseracing in the world, the Dubai World Cup – kicks off on Thursday January 21.
The Dubai World Cup Carnival 2021 is worth around US$6m (around Dhs22m) in prize money across seven race meetings at Meydan between January and March.
And if you want to catch the action, you can. Entry is limited but you can book hospitality packages if you want to see the racing live – and you’ll get to have a meal while you cheer on the winners.
There are various packages at Meydan Racecourse including at the Winners Circle restaurant, where you can get a three-course meal and soft drinks for Dhs275, or three-course meal and house beverages for Dhs325.
Meanwhile Farriers at The Meydan Hotel is hosting a Thursday ’90s Forever evening brunch, where you’ll get top views of the track alongside your favourite tunes from the 1990s. It’s Dhs149 with soft drinks and Dhs299 with house beverages and runs from 7pm until 11pm.
If you’re after something a little more casual, you can go to the Millennium Lounge at The Meydan Hotel for drinks and snacks for Dhs150 a person. There’s a live DJ here too. While on a Saturday afternoon there’s a barbecue.
The best horses, jockeys and trainers in the world descend upon Meydan Racecourse every year, with all eyes on the Dubai World Cup. This year the race is on Saturday March 27, and we’re already excited.
Ahead of the Dubai World Cup will be Super Saturday – on Saturday March 6 – a day worth US$1.7m (around Dhs6m).
The Dubai World Cup wasn’t held in 2020, in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19, so the excitement ahead of this year’s carnival is bigger than ever.
The 2021 race will be the 25th running of the Dubai World Cup, a day that is worth a whopping US$35million (Dhs128.5m) and has six Group One races.
The past two editions of the race, in 2018 and 2019, were both won by Godolphin’s Thunder Snow.
If you want to relive the action from the 2019 race, here are the best pictures from the Dubai World Cup 2019 For the best hats, click here.
Jan 21. Meydan Racecourse, Nad Al Sheba, www.dubairacingclub.com. Brunches at The Meydan Hotel (056 525 4040).
