Riyadh will look forward rather than pause on Thursday, December 25, as the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) stages Meeting 51 of the Riyadh Racing Season, a 12-race programme running from 3:20 pm to 8:25 pm. The evening is set up with clear intent, structured to gather momentum before reaching its competitive core in Race 8, the F/M Open, a SAR 120,000 contest for elite fillies and mares that is expected to set the standard for the meeting.
The early stages of the card will focus on development and discovery. Race 1, a Local Bred Maiden for 2-year-olds over 1200 metres at 3:20 pm, opens proceedings for SAR 40,000, followed closely by Race 2 at 3:45 pm, where Local Bred fillies with 0–2 wins contest the same distance for SAR 50,000, offering early signals of progression.
That narrative will continue into Race 3 at 4:10 pm, a Local Bred 0–2 winners’ race for horses aged three and above over 1200 metres, again worth SAR 50,000. The card then begins to stretch its scope in Race 4, a 2YO Fillies Open over 1400 metres at 4:40 pm, where SAR 75,000 raises both expectations and pressure.
Stamina enters the conversation from 5:05 pm onward. Race 5, a Local Bred Maiden over 1800 metres, is paired with Race 6, the Arabian Horses Maiden at 5:35 pm, also over 1800 metres, each carrying SAR 40,000 and demanding composure as much as pace.
At 6:05 pm, Race 7, another 2YO Fillies Open over 1600 metres for SAR 75,000, serves as the final tightening turn before the night’s focal moment.
Then comes Race 8, the race the card has been quietly building toward. Scheduled for 6:35 pm, the F/M Open over 1600 metres brings together seasoned fillies and mares aged three and above, competing for SAR 120,000. More than the richest race on the programme, it is positioned as the meeting’s measuring stick, where maturity, tactical judgement, and class are expected to intersect.
CONTENDERS: Craft In Silk, Fox Flame, Tazhaabha, Wardat Almayadeen, Ziggy’s Phoenix, Desert Jewel, Princess Yara, Everybreathyoutake, Passionately along with a few more.
Even beyond the feature, the programme will remain purposeful. Race 9, scheduled for 7:05 pm, is a Local Bred 0–2 winners’ race over 1600 metres, carrying a purse of SAR 50,000, before Race 10 will follow at 7:30 pm, offering the same purse of SAR 50,000 to emerging 2-year-olds over the same trip.
The closing stretch will reward endurance. Race 11, an Arabian Handicap 0–70 at 7:55 pm over 1600 metres, precedes Race 12, the Local Bred Handicap 0–75 at 8:25 pm, run over a demanding 2400 metres for SAR 85,000, designed to bring the evening to a decisive close.
From sharp juvenile sprints to a demanding 2400-metre finale, this Riyadh Racing Night is designed to reward patience, depth, and class. All roads, however, will lead to the F/M Open, where the evening’s strongest narrative is expected to be written under the lights. Race 8 is expected to be the reference point, the performance that frames the night and signals the road ahead for the season.
The Saudi Arabia Racecards 25 December outline a carefully structured Riyadh programme designed to build steadily toward its feature contest.
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