$10 million Dubai World Cup wins five-star ranking

The $10 million Dubai World Cup, the richest horse race in the world, was awarded five-star ranking along with three other sporting events in the ‘Sports Events Ranking System’ initiated by Dubai Sports Council (DSC).

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the DP World Tour Championship and Dubai Tour were the other winners of the five-star category who were selected from among 87 events.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council ratified the results of the ‘Sports Events Ranking System’, an initiative launched by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) to rank sports events according to 13 criteria and 29 key performance indicators (KPIs), and classify them under specific categories.

Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai International Marine Club presented awards to the top four winners after the results were announced at a gala ceremony on Monday night at Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa.

"It (five-star ranking) represents a very important milestone. We believe very much its an appreciation for the efforts of Meydan in horse racing industry," said Mohammed Al Shehhi, board member of Meydan who received the award.

He said this would spur on the Dubai World Cup to even greater heights.

Photo Caption: William Buick celebrates riding Prince Bishop to victory in the Dubai World Cup at the Meydan Racecourse on March 28, 2015 in Dubai, UAE. (Getty Images)