2011 Dubai World Cup

Raced annually at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai it has a purse of 10 million dollars.

• The race was the creation of the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who is one of the world's leading thoroughbred horse breeders and trainers.

• The race is ran in March each year and is for three and four year old thoroughbreds run over a distance of 2000 meters on the flat.

• The race now takes place on a Tapeta Footings synthetic surface at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. A course that includes the world's first trackside 5 star hotel and also includes a 9-hole golf course.

• The event was first held in 1996 and the first winner was American super horse, Cigar and the global coverage of the event helped put Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the map.

• No horse has ever won this race more than once but jockey, Jerry Bailey has won the event four times in 1996 and 1997 and 2001 and 2002.

• The event was recently extended to cover eight further races and is now worth a staggering US$26.25 million and is now attended by more than 50,000 racegoers each year.

• The Arabian Peninsula is the home of the thoroughbred’s renowned ancestor, the Arabian and the Arab world has a long standing presence in international thoroughbred racing, winning top trophies in the United States, Great Britain, France and Japan.

• Horse racing began in the UAE in October 1981, when the dusty Camel Track hosted the first thoroughbred race. The race meeting consisted of three races - a sprint, a mile and a mile and a half.

Thanks to the foresight of Sheikh Mohammed, the Dubai World Cup is now one of the premier horse racing events around the globe.