Hotels for Dubai World Cup 2027

The Dubai World Cup is one of the world's richest horse racing events, drawing elite competitors and enthusiasts from across the globe. Your choice of base determines how seamlessly you can reach Meydan Racecourse and explore the Emirates' contrasting character.

The Dubai World Cup is the glittering climax of a lavish evening of racing staged each March at Meydan Racecourse, the vast grandstand-and-hotel complex that opened in 2010 to replace the old Nad Al Sheba track. First run in 1996, the race was conceived by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and the force behind the Godolphin operation, as a showcase to put the emirate at the centre of the global thoroughbred calendar.

For years it ranked among the richest horse races in the world, and its roll of honour is studded with champions, most famously the American dirt star Cigar, who won the inaugural running. The card unfolds under floodlights across the evening, building through a series of international Group races to the main event over roughly a mile and a quarter, before fireworks light the desert sky. Around the racing, extravagant hats and headline concerts have made the night one of the Middle East's grandest social occasions.