Horse racing is returning to the capital this autumn with the 2026-27 Riyadh Racing Season. The new programme brings a few notable changes alongside the fixtures that regulars already know.
Organised by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, the season will run at King Abdulaziz Racecourse from Friday, 16 October 2026 to Saturday, 17 April 2027, with racing taking place every Friday and Saturday across 50 race days.
There will be $62.9 million in total prize money, including $52.7 million allocated to the season’s Major Cups. The calendar includes 21 feature race days, with seven key weekends expected to draw particular attention.
One of the biggest additions is the Riyadh Crown Series, a three-race competition for locally bred colts, geldings and fillies. The series begins on Friday, 4 December with a 1,400-metre race for two-year-olds carrying a $133,000 prize. A second 1,400-metre race for three-year-olds follows on Friday, 22 January 2027, before the series culminates in the King Abdulaziz Cup on Friday, 12 March.
The overall series carries SAR 6 million in prize money. Local-bred fillies will have their own Riyadh Sword Series, worth $410,000. It opens with the Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Cup on Saturday, 5 December, followed by the 1,000 Guineas on Friday, 8 January.
The final race, the 1,600-metre Fillies Mile, takes place on Saudi Cup Day on Saturday, 6 February 2027 and will be open to both locally bred and imported fillies.
7 Major Weekends to Look Out For
Across the six-month calendar, 21 feature race days will form the backbone of the season, including seven headline weekends.
These include the Juvenile Championship, the Crown Prince Cup, the Kings’ Weekend, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Weekend, the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Festival, the Saudi Cup and the King Abdulaziz Cup.
With racing now scheduled twice a week, the expanded programme gives both regular followers and newcomers plenty of opportunities to experience the sport throughout the season.
For Riyadh, it also adds another major sporting calendar to the cooler months, with the Saudi Cup weekend in February remaining one of the season’s biggest dates.
Read more Riyadh news and updates here.
