The $100,000 President of the UAE Cup series for the Purebred Arabians (G1) – America’s richest Arabian race of the year – returns to Pimlico Race Course on one of horse racing’s biggest days, Preakness Stakes Day, to be held today, Saturday, 21 May 2022, in Baltimore, Maryland.
The ten nominees for the 2022 UAE President Cup (G1) include the reigning Horse of the Year, Hiab Al Zaman; the 2018 winner of the race and Horse of the Year, Quick Sand AA; 2022 graded stakes winner, Like Moulin Rouge; 2020 Darley Champion 3 Year Old Filly, Uptown Lady Arabella, and UAE Group winner, Sniper De Monlau. The remainder of the field includes: Highh Maintenance, who finished fourth in the Darley Sprint Stakes (G3) at Sam Houston Kissouur, coming off an Allowance Optional Claiming win in April against several of these nominees Proud American, represented by the same trainer/owner combo as RB Texas Hold Em, winner of the UAE President Cup (G1) in 2019.
This year’s race marks the fourth time purebred Arabian horses have run at the world-famous Pimlico Race Course on Preakness Day. The race was also held on Preakness Day in 2012 (won by TM Fred Texas), 2020 (won by Paddys Day) and 2021 (won by Paddys Day). The 2021 UAE President Cup (G1) at Pimlico handled over $2.3 million, a record handle on a single Arabian race.
In 2020 and 2021, the race was run in front of smaller-to-no crowds due to COVID-19 restrictions. But with a full crowd expected this year, the anticipation for this year’s Preakness card is notably high.
”We owe so much to our sponsor, the UAE President Cup, for offering this prestigious race in America as part of its long running series,” said Susan Meyer, president of the Arabian Jockey Club.
Presented by the UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs, the UAE President Cup Series is the longest-running Arabian race series in the world. It began in 1994 and was the first series to visit France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Ireland, Morocco, Egypt, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Turkey, UAE, Russia, and the United States. In 2022, its world tour includes France, USA, Tunisia, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Russia, Germany, United Kingdom, Libya, Netherlands, Egypt, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia.