Thunder Snow, ridden by jockey Christophe Sumillon (in blue) and trained by Saeed Bin Surour, wins the UAE Derby at the Meydan yesterday. The Dubai World Cup meeting was beaming to more than a billion homes globally in 156 countries.
Dubai: The $30 million Dubai World Cup meeting, the 22nd running of which was held on Saturday at Meydan, continues to set the gold standard for the sport of horse racing.
Launched in 1996 with the showpiece race of the event, the 2000 metre Dubai World Cup on dirt, the richest race in the world with a purse of $4 million, the nine-race meeting continues to break new ground.
While Saturday’s race were beaming to more than a billion homes globally in 156 countries, it also became the first horse race to be broadcast live on airlines and cruise lines.
So imagine, while sitting in your economy seat or business class or first class, aboard a giant bird, you can actually watch the nine-race meeting live as it unfolded at Meydan Racecourse, one of sport’s most iconic venues.
Created through the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Dubai World Cup fixture is set against one of the most iconic sporting theatres, the state-of-the-art Meydan Racecourse. The architectural masterpiece measures 1.2km in length and can seat more than 60,000 in its grandstand.
Shaikh Mohammad attended the meeting together with Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, several shaikhs from the UAE and Middle East and a host of dignitaries and celebrity guests.
Horses trained in Bahrain, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, the UAE, UK, US and Latin America contested nine top-class races, including five Group 1 (the highest grade) races for thoroughbreds. Racecourse Media Group (RMG), working with Meydan Group LLC, showcased the day to a truly worldwide audience.
Additionally, NBC Sports Network in the US broadcast a live three-hour programme for the first time, while other broadcasters who picked up live coverage included Eurosport (UK), Super Sport (South Africa), DSPORT (India), Sina (China), Arena Sport (Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia and Kosovo) and The Green Channel / Fuji TV (Japan).
The Mens (Middle East and North Africa) region were served by live coverage from the home-based Dubai Racing Channel, Yas TV and Al Kass. South America (ESPN), Australia (racing.com), Poland (TVP), the UK (Racing UK, At The Races and ITV4), Scandinavia (TV Sports), Russia (NT+), Slovakia & Czech Republic (IFC Media) and Republic of Ireland (TV3) are other territories showing the action. Racecourse Media Group Press Release CNN covered the race for its World Sport and Winning Post broadcasts.
In addition, news outlets across the world received the story of the day via SNTV, the leading sports news video agency, which has a potential household reach of more than one billion.
Adam Binns, Director of Broadcast and Production at RMG, which has also produced the output for Meydan Group, said in a press release: “A record number of broadcasters are showing this year’s Dubai World Cup fixture, as befits a significant global sporting event such as this.
“Horses from a dozen countries are set to be represented, along with some of the most famous owners, jockeys, trainers and breeders, in what will be a thrilling spectacle.”
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