Saudi Arabia to Host 41st ARF Conference

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia was formally recognised as the hosts of the 2026 Asian Racing Conference in a ceremony marking the close of the 2024 event in Sapporo, Japan.

The JCSA’s Chairman, HRH Prince Bandar Bin Khaled Alfaisal set the scene for the 41st conference during a speech given at a ceremony held to mark the end of the 40th event in Japan.

Organised biannually in conjunction with the Asian Racing Federation, is one of the most significant global events in the horseracing industry and every two years.

It plays host to racing experts, owners and prominent industry executives who come together to set the agenda and discuss challenges affecting the sport internationally.

“As a relatively new racing jurisdiction on the global stage,” said HH Prince Bander, “Saudi Arabia was delighted to be selected as the venue for the 41st Asian Racing Conference.”

“We thank the ARF for this honour and we plan to give this prestigious event the platform it deserves back home in Riyadh, taking the opportunity to showcase both our sport and our country.”

“The Asian Racing Conference was first staged in Tokyo in 1960 and has been held in Japan four times in total, the most recent being in 2008, with the event hosted in the Middle East only once previously, by the UAE in the 31st running in 2007.”

“If Japan is where the Asian Racing Conference was given life, then the Arabian Peninsula is where the roots of the modern-day racehorse were established, hundreds of years ago through the foundation sires.

“This deep connection to the sport of horseracing is part of our national identity, with the legacy of the horse, its place in our history and its role in our future, is deeply embedded in Saudi culture and heritage.”

The JCSA expects to host approximately 1,000 participants from around the world at the 2026 conference, which reflects the size of the event and its importance in developing and strengthening the horse racing industry globally.

It also confirms the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s growing position as a major horse racing destination in the Middle East and around the world.

On the third day of the 40th Asian Racing Conference titled ‘Breeding: Unpacking Future Challenges & Opportunities’, Ms. Sarah Carmichael highlighted stallion numbers and “we must always breed quality over quantity.”

As CEO of the International Thoroughbred Breeders’ Federation “we need to breed tough, correct, sound and athletic individuals for the racetrack as stallion numbers are also a concern, going from 218 stallions in Great Britain in 2013 to just 118 in 2023.”

Mr. Antony Thompson, as Owner-Director of Widden Stud Australia was very positive regarding Australia’s breeding future, backed by strong prize money growth as “we’d say prize money is the cornerstone of the Australian racing system.”

“Wagering has seen our prize money break through a billion dollars last year – a billion dollars paid out to participants and there has been a 45% increase in prize money in the past five years’”

”This prize money drives ownership, and there are over 100,000 registered owners in Australia, so one in about every 250 Australians owns a share in a horse.”