Meydan Racecourse
The grandstand at Meydan
LocationMeydan City, Dubai
Coordinates25°09′22″N 55°18′24″E / 25.1561024°N 55.3065491°E / 25.1561024; 55.3065491
Owned byDubai Racing Club
Date opened27 March 2010[1]
Course typeFlat
Notable racesDubai World Cup
Official website
The Meydan grandstand
A race at Meydan
Meydan had the world's longest television screen
Meydan Grandstand interior
Part of the spectator terrace at Meydan

Meydan Racecourse is a racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The grandstand is a half mile in length, and can accommodate over 60,000 spectators.

Meydan opened on 27 March 2010,[1] replacing Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, which formerly occupied the same site. It includes a horse racing museum, gallery and five-star hotel and nine-hole golf course. When not in use for racing it serves as a business and conference centre. The track's interior was also used as a filming location for the film Star Trek Beyond, depicting the docking bay where the USS Enterprise is moored, including the bar scene during the film's climax which contains a ship construction bay.

The Meydan grandstand

The 7.5 million m² Meydan Racecourse includes Meydan Marina, The Meydan, the world's first five-star trackside hotel with 285 rooms, two race tracks and the Grandstand, which consists of a hotel, restaurants, a racing museum and 72 corporate suites for entertaining throughout the year. It has a 2,400 m left-handed turf race track and a left-handed 8.75-furlong (1,750 m) dirt[2] course. It operates from November through March and features the Winter Racing Challenge, Dubai International Racing Carnival and the Dubai World Cup Night. The Dubai World Cup is the world's richest race day with over US$26.25 million in prize money.

The Racecourse district occupies 67 million ft² (620 ha); the overall Meydan City development however is 200 million ft² (1,900 ha). It is divided into four sub-districts: Meydan Racecourse, Meydan Metropolis, Meydan Horizons, and Meydan Godolphin Parks. Meydan is closely affiliated with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

Lady Gaga performed there on 10 September 2014 as part of her world tour, ArtRave: The Artpop Ball, in support of her third studio album ARTPOP. The racecourse has also hosted concerts by Elton John, Santana, Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson and Sia.

Major Thoroughbred races

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Leslie Wilson Jr; Aya Lowe (December 15, 2009). "Meydan race course construction on track". Gulf News. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
  2. ↑ "Meydan to replace Tapeta surface with dirt". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
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