OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Live coverage of the Group 1, $12 million Dubai World Cup presented by Runhappy airs Saturday, March 26 at noon, Eastern on FS2. The field for the 26th annual Dubai World Cup is headlined by multiple graded stakes winner Life Is Good.
Coverage of the Dubai World Cup undercard, featuring seven stakes races, will air live from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on FS2. The “Golden Hour” telecast features live coverage of the Dubai World Cup from 12 – 1 p.m., also on FS2.
Rishi Persad, Angus McNae and Michelle Yu will be hosting the action, with additional commentary to come from Nick Luck and Britney Eurton, while Nick Lightfoot and Tom Stanley bring viewers all the latest from Meydan Racecourse. The race call will be provided by Alistair Cohen. Laffit Pincay III will offer stateside updates live from Aqueduct Racetrack.
Scheduled post time for the Dubai World Cup is 12:30 p.m. Eastern, and wagering is available in the United States via NYRA Bets.
The Dubai World Cup, to be contested at 10 furlongs at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, will feature a contingent of top U.S. dirt horses, including the Pegasus World Cup Invitational winner Life Is Good and Pennsylvania Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie.
Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Life Is Good won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in November, and followed up by beating 2021 Horse of the Year Knicks Go in the Pegasus World Cup in January.
Victory would be a first in the race for Pletcher, who has won nearly every major prize in North America but is still chasing a title in the World Cup. Owned by WinStar Farm and the China Horse Club, Life Is Good drew the rail and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr.
Providing competition is Doug O’Neill’s Hot Rod Charlie, who hit the ground running with a win in the Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge in on his only start in Dubai. Also in the field are Country Grammer and Midnight Bourbon, who run fresh from their respective second- and third-place finishes in last month’s Saudi Cup at Riyadh.
Hot Rod Charlie will break from post 7 with Flavien Prat aboard. Country Grammer leaves from post 5, ridden by Frankie Dettori; with Midnight Bourbon in post 8 and Jose Ortiz aboard.
The Dubai World Cup undercard will air live from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on FS2 and feature seven stakes races: the Group 2, $1 million Godolphin Mile G2; the Group 2, $1 million Dubai Gold Cup (16 furlongs on the turf); the Group 1, $1.5 million Al Quoz Sprint (six furlongs on the turf); the Group 2, $1 million UAE Derby (9.5 furlongs on the dirt); the Group 1, $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen (six furlongs on the dirt); the Group 1, $5 million Dubai Turf (9 furlongs on the turf); and the Group 1, $6 million Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (12 furlongs on the dirt).
The Group 2 UAE Derby sponsored by Mubadala has a scheduled post time of 10:10 a.m. and will offer 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers, if eligible. Included in the field of 16 are six horses who are Triple Crown-nominated, led by U.S. hopes Gilded Age and Pinehurst.
The Bill Mott-trained Gilded Age, who was most recently third in the Grade 3 Withers on March 5 at Aqueduct, will break from post 9 with a new rider, Luis Saez. Pinehurst is the 2021 winner of the G1 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity, and last out, on Feb. 26, took the Group 3 Saudi Derby on Saudi Cup Day. Jockey Flavien Prat will be aboard Pinehurst, leaving from post 6.
Free Equibase-provided past performances are available for races that are part of the broadcast and can be accessed at https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.
NYRA Press Office
