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UAE Derby Betting

The UAE Derby is a Group 2 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates. The race for 3-year-olds is run at a distance of 1900 meters (approx. 9.5 furlongs or 1 3/16 miles) on the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. The race takes place annually during the Dubai World Cup night on the last Saturday in March. The UAB has been run since 2000, at different distances, and currently has a massive purse of $2 million. Since 2013, the race has been a part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby and its Championship Series awarding points to the top-4 finishers (100-40-20-10). The winner and runner-up earn enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby.

The UAE Derby’s huge purse, position during the Dubai World Cup and major prep for the Kentucky Derby makes it a big betting race and an interesting handicap with major travel and some horses running over the track for the first time. The 2017 UAE Derby featured eight Dubai-based horses in the fascinating field of 16 runners, so get familiar with the races at Meydan and how the horses running in the UAE Derby have performed in the local races and preps.  Horses from both the northern and southern hemisphere race against each other, and note that southern hemisphere 3-year-olds are six months or so older than northern hemisphere 3-year-olds and are considered 4-year-olds in North America.

The ownership group of Godolphin racing has dominated the UAE Derby with 8 wins, including in 2017 with Irish-bred Thunder Snow. He got his head down at the wire to win by a nose over Japan’s leading 3-year-old Epicharis following an exciting stretch duel. On a muddy track, Thunder Snow finished in 1:57.76, the fastest UAE Derby in the Meydan dirt era (since 2015).

With the race back on dirt, more American horses may ship to Dubai for the UAE Derby and other big races on the dirt during the Carnival meet and Dubai World Cup Day. But only a handful of U.S.-based horse have raced in the UAE Derby since 2015. Also, since the inaugural UAE Derby in 2000, the race has never produced a Kentucky Derby winner or a winner of any of the 3-year-old Classics in the United States. So focus your handicapping and betting interests on the European horses and those with some proven performances over the Meydan dirt track.