The 2025 edition of the Saudi Cup Festival will feature significant upgrades to key races and increased prize money, with the Riyadh Sprint Cup, sponsored by Sports Boulevard, and the Red Sea Cup, sponsored by Longines, elevated to Group 2 international status. These enhancements accompany upgrades to several prominent races in the ongoing Riyadh season for 2024-2025. The Jockey Club announced that the Riyadh Dirt Sprint, won last year by the Japanese horse "Remake," will see its prize pool increased by $500,000, bringing it to a total of $2 million. Meanwhile, the Longines Red Sea Cup, won by "Tower of London" under trainer Aidan O'Brien, will maintain its substantial $2.5 million prize. The Saudi Cup, the world's richest horse racing event, will be held on February 21-22, 2025. The second day will feature one Group 3 race, four Group 2 races, and two Group 1 races: the OBAIYA Cup for Purebred Arabian Horses, sponsored by the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, and the $20 million Saudi Cup. The festival' s first day will include the Group 1 Manifa Cup for Purebred Arabian Horses, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, and the four-round World Jockeys Challenge. Prince Bandar bin Khalid bin Faisal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Equestrian Authority and the Jockey Club, emphasized that these race upgrades-both in the Saudi Cup Festival and the local Riyadh season-underscore the Kingdom's rising prominence in the world of horse racing, both domestically and internationally Source: Saudi Press Agency