Goodwood, one of Britain's "most prestigious racecourses, could make racing history should a proposal to stage a Purebred Arabian meeting on its hallowed turf become a reality," according to Leslie Wilson Jr. of GULF NEWS. Office of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Dir Mirza Al Sayegh said that talks have been "initiated with the racecourse management and that he was hopeful the plan could come to fruition in the not too distant future." Al Sayegh revealed that if Goodwood replaces Newbury as host of the Dubai Int'l Races, it would help "raise the profile of Arabian racing and provide it with a new impetus" (GULF NEWS, 8/10).
SET FOR AN OVERHAUL: In Abu Dhabi, Geoffrey Riddle reported the European Purebred Arabian program is set for an "overhaul as the full impact of only four runners in the Dubai International Stakes at Newbury Racecourse on Sunday sinks in." Int'l Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities Vice Chair Genny Haynes met with French Arabian Horseracing Association Dir Veronique Briat at Newbury with a "view to nailing down a date for pan-European talks on how to sort out the Purebred Arabian calendar" (THE NATIONAL, 8/11).
