2026 UAE Derby ML Odds

Official race entries and morning line odds are listed below:

2026 UAE Derby Results

Exotic Payouts:

• $1.00 Exacta (5-2) Paid: $39.10
• $0.50 Trifecta (5-2-9) Paid: $61.41
• $0.10 Superfecta (5-2-9-10) Paid: $83.13

Watch the 2026 UAE Derby

UAE Derby Race History

The UAE (United Arab Emirates) Derby is held each year in March as part of the Dubai World Cup Night. It is held at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is a group two flat (level racecourse) horse race held on a dirt surface, left-handed track at a distance of 1,900 meters (1 3/16 miles or 9.5 furlongs). It has also run at distances of nine and ten furlongs. Three-year-olds from both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere are free to compete in the UAE Derby.

There is one proviso: the race is open to southern hemisphere-bred 3-year-olds, who are about six months older than their northern hemisphere counterparts and thus not eligible for the Kentucky Derby. So if they finish in points-earning positions ahead of their northern hemisphere-bred opponents, the points won’t count towards the First Saturday in May.

The inaugural UAE Derby winner China Visit finished sixth in the 2000 Kentucky Derby, but no subsequent winner of the UAE Derby has finished any closer at Churchill Downs. However, horses like Discreet Cat, Toast of New York, and Mubtaahij distinguished themselves in the U.S later in their careers, and Lani subsequently finished third in the Belmont Stakes.

The best performance by a runner came from 2024 winner Forever Young, who remained undefeated until finishing third behind Mystik Dan and Dierra Leone in the first 3-horse photo finish since 1947. Two UAE Derby winners that started at Churchill Downs – Daddy Long Legs, Thunder Snow – failed to finish, with the latter refusing to join the race in 2017. 2018 race winner Mendelssohn would end up finishing in last place. 

The largest field size for the race is 16 (2000 & 2022) and the smallest field size is 9 (2004).

UAE Derby Records

The biggest margin of victory is 12 lengths, which was set by Blues and Royals in 2005.

The record for fastest time at the race is 1:47.04, set by Express Tour in 2001 at the shorter 9-furlong distance. The fastest recorded time at its current 10-furlong distance is 1:55.18, set by Mendelssohn in 2018.

The record for most wins by a jockey is three, held by Christophe Soumillon (2010, 2015, 2017). The record for most wins by a trainer is eight, set by Saeed bin Suroor (2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2017). The horses he trained in each of those victories were owned by Godolphin Racing, and they held that record in tandem with bin Suroor until 2021 when Charlie Appleby guided Rebel's Romance to victory, giving Godolphin a total of nine wins. The 2017 race, won by Thunder Snow, was the first and only time Soumillon, bin Suroor, and Godolphin Racing won the race as a tripod.

UAE Derby Winners

With the race existing only since 2000, the list of notable winners is quite short. A couple of noteworthy UAE Derby winners includes Discreet Cat (2006 Jerome Breeders’ Cup Handicap winner and 1996 Co-World Champion Three-Year-Old), and Thunder Snow (2016 Top-Rated British Two-Year-Old).