The Taif Racing Season 2026 will begin on 24 July and will continue through to 26 September, with Taif Racecourse set to host ten weeks of racing featuring a blend of maiden contests, handicaps, championship races and prestigious cup events. The programme, organised by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, will offer prize money ranging from SAR 40,000 at entry level to SAR 1 million for the season’s most important races.
Taif Racing Season 2026
The opening weekend on 24 and 25 July will introduce several notable feature races. Friday’s card will include the Shubra Cup Prep, Al Hada Cup Prep and JCSA Almaseef Cup Prep, while Saturday’s programme will feature the Um Alqura Cup Prep and Taif Flower Festival Cup Prep. Those contests will provide the first clues regarding the horses likely to emerge as leading contenders for the season’s major honours.
Attention will then turn to the second week of racing on 31 July and 1 August. The Makkah Almokarramah Regional Governor Cup Prep will headline the Friday fixture, before the Taif University Cup Prep, Taif Derby Prep and Taif Arabian Derby Prep take centre stage on Saturday. Those races will help shape the fields for several of the campaign’s marquee events.
The season’s first major cup race will arrive on 8 August when the Alhada Cup will be contested over 1,400 metres for three-year-olds. Carrying prize money of SAR 150,000, the race will represent a significant milestone in the summer programme and will attract some of the most progressive horses in training.
A particularly strong weekend will follow on 14 and 15 August. The Friday card will feature the JCSA Challenge, Um Alqura University Cup and Taif Flower Festival Cup, while Saturday’s programme will showcase the Shubra Cup and JCSA Almaseef Cup. Each of those races will contribute to an increasingly competitive middle section of the season.
The fifth week, scheduled for 21 and 22 August, will see the spotlight fall on the Taif Derby and Taif Arabian Derby. Both races will carry prize money of SAR 350,000 and will rank among the most valuable contests staged before the championship meetings. The same weekend will also include the Taif University Cup, further enhancing the quality of the programme.
The closing weeks of August will introduce several key championship trials. On 28 August, the Sprint Championship Prep races and King Faisal Cup Prep will headline proceedings, while the following day will feature the F&M Cup and Ash Shafa Cup. Those races will serve as important stepping stones towards the season finale.
September’s fixtures will continue to build momentum. The Taif Sprint Cup, worth SAR 350,000, will be staged on 5 September, while the JCSA Sprint Cup will follow on 12 September. The Sprint Championship races, carrying purses of SAR 250,000, will then headline the meeting on 18 September. The following day will also feature the lucrative JCSA Contribution races for two-year-olds, each carrying prize money of SAR 450,000.
The final weekend of the Taif Racing Season 2026 will provide the richest and most prestigious races of the entire campaign. On 25 September, the Taif Cup will be contested in separate divisions for two-year-olds and three-year-olds, while the Okaz Cup will offer prize money of SAR 600,000. The same card will also feature the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Cup, a Listed contest worth SAR 1 million, alongside the Group 3 King Faisal Cup, which will likewise carry a purse of SAR 1 million.
The concluding fixture on 26 September will bring the season to a close with the JCSA Challenge, King Khalid Racecourse Championship and National Day Cup. Those races will ensure the campaign finishes on a high note and will provide a fitting conclusion to ten weeks of competitive summer racing at Taif.
With feature races spanning distances from 1,200 metres to 2,400 metres and a programme that will cater to juveniles, classic-generation horses and established older performers, the Taif Racing Season 2026 will stand among the most comprehensive and valuable summer racing schedules in Saudi Arabia.
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