Meydan Racecourse to honour Dubai Expo 2020

Dubai: In a fitting tribute to Dubai’s successful bid to host Expo 2020, Meydan Racecourse has dedicated Thursday’s race meeting to the historic victory that was achieved in Paris last week.

All six races on the evening’s card will be run under the Dubai Expo 2020 banner to celebrate the emirate’s achievement of becoming the first city in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia to host the event.

Malih Al Basti, Meydan Group Board Member and Chairman of the Meydan Racing Committee, led the praise for Dubai and described the successful Expo 2020 bid as a “positive milestone in UAE history”.

“This will be the first World Expo to be held in the region and represents a significant achievement for Dubai and the UAE,” Al Basti said. “We would like to congratulate the Government of Dubai and its partners on presenting a successful bid.

“Meydan Group would like to congratulate the Government of Dubai and its partners for presenting a successful bid. A World Expo takes place once every five years and is a major catalyst for economic, cultural and social development.

“For an organisation like the Meydan Group, with development plans that will help shape the future of our great city, this represents a significant and positive milestone in UAE history, the effects of which will be felt for many years.”

“Thanks to the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice-President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Meydan Racecourse has become a focus of the international racing and tourism industry and it is this same vision that has guided Dubai in its Expo 2020 bid,” he said.

“The Meydan Group, with its ongoing plans for high-quality real estate created in partnership with proven developers, fully subscribes to the theme around which the Expo 2020 bid was built; ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’,” he added.

Thursday’s six-race card is highlighted by the Dh120,000 Mazrat Al Ruwayah Prep, a Conditions event for Purebred Arabians, which kicks off the evening.

Admission is free to the public areas of Meydan Racecourse and ticket prices start at Dh50. Gates open at 5pm and the first race starts at 6.30pm.

Expo is a world fair featuring trade, exhibitions and cultural events, which is held every five years in different parts of the world.