Horse Racing In The Arab World

Most everyone has heard of "Arabian Stallions," a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula.  Currently, they are one of the top ten most popular horse breeds in the world and today, Arabian bloodlines are found in almost every modern breed of riding horse.

And this is a part of the world that has a true historic love of horses dating back thousands of years.  There are claims that horses originated in the Fertile Crescent, that area of moist and fertile land that sweeps westward from Iraq all the way to the Nile Valley.

To Bet Or Not To Bet

Combine this affection for these beautiful creatures with a culture that frowns heavily on gambling, and you can imagine the quagmire that the world's largest horse racing prize, the 2013 Dubai World Cup with an estimated $10 million dollar purse, could produce.  So, it is a little difficult to explain that attendants at this race were not betting at the Meydan Racecourse. 

According to some, Islam is a place where "real horse racing can exist without the smut."  In other words, while extravagant living (read "gambling, etc.) go hand in hand elsewhere, Dubai in particular wants to prove that premiere horse racing does not need gambling.

How To Define Gambling

Online betting has a presence around the world, like at William Hill and bet365 sports, two of the most respected online gaming casinos around and where horsebetting is open, legal, and welcome.  But there are multiple references that say the U.A.E. blocks websites including online gambling websites and any offshore cruise ships that anchor on U.A.E. shores.

Despite this, there are recent examples discussing U.A.E. betting such as the Dubai Duty Free Lotteries.  Interestingly, Dubai Duty Free has been one of the sponsors of the Dubai World Cup. This raises an eyebrow to the definition of gambling because lotteries are technically gambling.

The laws in the U.A.E. may be fierce, but evidently raffles are okay.  Where there is a will, it seems there is always a way.