One of the fascinating leaders of the Middle East is the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Defense Minister and also the Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The sheikh is not only acclaimed for pushing free-enterprise policies and big infrastructure projects, he is also king of the world’s fabulous sport of thoroughbred horse racing.
His villa in Dubai is decorated with majestic white horse sculptures atop the grand entrance. Unlike other members of the royalty who indulge in extravagant sports just for the thrill of it, Sheikh Mohammed has applied his entrepreneurial Midas touch to his passion for horse-raising to boost Dubai’s prestige in world tourism and also to reclaim the past Arab heritage of horse-breeding.
Sheikh Mohammed once said: "In Arabia there was selective breeding of horses centuries ago. A warrior would ride his camel to the battle, leading his horse. For the fight itself, though, he would mount the horse. And that was the start of the blood-horse because a man would say, ‘This other man has a good stallion, I will send my mare to him.’ In a way, we are only reclaiming our heritage, though it is one that we are happy to share."
Sheikh Mohammed is the eldest of four brothers and his father Sheikh Rashid bin Said Al Maktoum is vice-president and prime minister of the UAE, as well as hereditary ruler of Dubai. UAE has seven autonomous federal states, one of which is free-wheeling Dubai. The four Al Maktoum brothers own horse farms in England, Ireland and Kentucky, and the USA.
In the Al Maktoum family’s bid to establish Dubai as the ultimate travel and leisure mecca, they annually hold popular events such as the Dubai Shopping Festival, Dubai Desert Golf Classic, the US$1 million Dubai Duty Free Tennis Open, Dubai Air Show (world’s third largest), camel racing, dhow racing, Dubai Rugby Sevens, powerboat racing, etc.
The biggest of all these events is the Dubai World Cup every March, with the world’s richest ever horse-racing prizes. The purse this year was US$6 million, part of a day of horse-racing with total prize money of US$15.25 million or P777.75 million. The races are held in the Dubai Racing Club, with top jockeys from Europe, the US and Australia regularly taking part in races throughout the season from November to April.
Economist magazine of London reported: "The al Maktoums... Aside from owning more of the world’s racehorses than anyone else, they are believed to hold assets worth over US$10 billion."
On October 27, 2001, Godolphin horses won in the 18th Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Belmont Park in New York City, just 20 miles from Ground Zero, where terrorists had a month earlier destroyed the World Trade Center. Fifty-thousand fans watched the races, with some of the world’s best thousand-pound horses racing at 40 miles per hour.
Sheikh Mohammed declared that Godolphin’s winnings that day would go to the New York Heroes Fund, which was established to aid families of the September 11 victims. The fund that day received US$2.5 million winnings of Godolphin as donations, while other Breeders’ Cup owners that day donated US$200,000.