Submitted by: Dennis Miller Alameda County Fair Racing Publicist
Last year, the Arabian racing community as well as racing fans in general were treated to the pageantry and class of a Wathba Stud Farm Cup race at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton. The event was such an overwhelming success for the H.H. Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival that promotes Arabian horse racing around the globe; the decision was made not only to come back to Pleasanton, but to up their sponsorship.
Saturday, June 23, the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup with a purse of $20,000 will be held in Pleasanton.
“We are here to give support for breeders of Arabian horse racing and we are happy to see the crowd of 30,000 enjoying themselves,” said Lara Sawaya, the director of the Festival and the head of the IFAHR ladies racing said last year when the decision to come back to Pleasanton and increase the purse size.
“For the 100th year of racing at the Pleasanton race track, we will sponsor the biggest race of the series of HH Sh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival, the HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup, a $20,000 race.”
All total, there will be 10 Arabian races sponsored by the group around the world. Pleasanton is the fifth race in the series as races have already been run in Australia, Texas, France, and Germany. After Pleasanton, races will be contested in Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, and France, before ending with the final round in Abu Dhabi in November.
There will be four Wathba Stud Farm Cup races in California this year in Santa Rosa (Aug. 4), Ferndale (Aug. 11), Stockton (Sept. 9) and Fresno (Oct. 6).
The main objectives of the Festival are:
• Continue the considerable efforts made by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in the context of the preservation of heritage and traditions. It specifically aims to preserve heritage sports, especially equestrian sport.
• Introducing to the people of the world, and those interested in the importance of Arabian horses, the rich depths of UAE heritage.
• Preserve the most important pure-bred Arabian horses in the Arabian Peninsula.
• Promote Arabian horses throughout the world.
For more information on the Pleasanton race, to cover the race or to make sure you get results and a picture of the race, please contact Alameda County Fair Racing Publicist Dennis Miller at (925) 200-0719.
