The Horse Race Coordination Council for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf held its first meeting on Monday, February 17, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss the main developments and cooperative initiatives aimed at enhancing the integrity, organization and growth of horse racing across the region.
The meeting included representatives of member states to meet the challenges and joint opportunities in this industry.
The meeting met with His Royal Highness Prince Bandar bin Khaled Al -Faisal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Horse Racing Club in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who stressed the importance of regional cooperation to advance sports, and His Highness also blessed this positive step for horse racing in the region.
Then the members of the council and the awareness discussed the axes of the meeting ..
The meeting was chaired by the President of the Council, His Excellency Mr. Muhammad Al -Shehhi (United Arab Emirates), and the participation of Vice President His Excellency Mr. Salem bin Mahfouz (Saudi Arabia), His Excellency Mr. Badr Al -Darwish (Qatar), His Excellency Mr. Youssef Bouhji from the Kingdom of Bahrain, and His Excellency Brigadier General The retired Abdul -Razzaq Al -Shahrzi (Amman) and His Excellency Mr. Hashem Jewel (Kuwait). Where the members agreed to form four specific sub -business groups, focusing on the integrated components of the successful racing industry, including harmonization through organization and integrity, veterinary movement and horse movement, and the programming of the race and sustainability. The meeting stressed the importance of following a unified approach to racing management, ensuring the highest standards of fairness and transparency. The president and members also expressed their desire to make more effort to achieve the desired goals, and their aspiration for the next meeting..
For his part, Mr. Youssef Bouhaji, CEO of Rashid Equestrian and Horse Race Club, stressed that holding the first meeting of the Horse Race Coordination Council for the Cooperation Council countries is an important step towards strengthening regional cooperation and upgrading the competitiveness of horse racing. He pointed out that this sport has the support and attention of the Supreme Commission for Rashid Equestrian and Horse Racing Club, headed by His Highness Sheikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Waqf bin Salman Education Charitable, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Labor Fund, Chairman of the Supreme Commission for Rashid Equestrian Club and Racing Horse.
Bouhaji explained that the club is committed to supporting horse racing and enhancing its interdependence and sustainability, stressing that this joint effort represents a real opportunity to advance the wheel of horse racing in the region. Expressing the Kingdom of Bahrain’s aspiration for the active contribution to these initiatives in cooperation with its brothers in the countries of the Cooperation Council, which contributes to the development and prosperity of this sport at the level of the Middle East.
