Abu Dhabi: A huge prize bonus has been added to the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Racing Festival in both the US and Europe in a bid to boost the event.
The Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Triple Jewel, which comprises races in Houston, Texas (Amethyst), Pleasanton, California (Emerald Green) and Los Alamitos, California (Diamond), will offer a bonus of $150,000 on top of the prize money of $47,000,
The horses will be awarded points based on their finishes in each of the races and the one with most points at the end will collect the bonus.
Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the festival and Chairman of Ladies Racing at the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR), spoke at a press briefing here on Thursday.
She said of the bonus: “This will be a huge shot in the arm for the festival. This will inspire the trainers and owners to prepare their horses very well.
“The festival will also take care of all the expenditures of accommodating the horses during the US Triple Jewel races.”
The Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan European Triple Crown, which began in 2010, also received a cash enhancement of €50,000 for this season. French Purebred Arabian horse Ameretto has already won the title for the third time in a row and will now claim the bonus.
“Nobody has won three titles in a row in Arabian racing and so we wanted to reward him [Ameretto] with this bonus. The award will be given here in Abu Dhabi on November 9,” Sawaya said.
The venues that will host the Triple Crown next year will be Toulouse, France, the Netherlands and Poland.
Meanwhile, two more categories have been added to the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Awards Hollywood 2015.
“Apart from the 11 existing award categories, there will also be best endurance race rider award and a lifetime achievement award for exceptional work in the field of Arabian Horse Racing,” Sawaya announced.
