The Al Marmoom Heritage Festival reaches its final day on Thursday, April 2, with some of the leading camel stables in the UAE and wider Gulf set to race for a total prize fund of AED 8.95 million at Al Marmoom Camel Racetrack in Dubai.
The meeting, organised by Dubai Camel Racing Club, starts from 1.30pm and is free for the public to attend. It rounds off a 12-day festival programme that has featured 333 races and more than 6,000 camels from across the UAE and the region.
Among the entries due to compete are presidential camels from Hijn Al Riyassa in Abu Dhabi, as well as runners from Dubai stables Hijn Zabeel and Hijn Al Asifa, and Hijn Al Shahaniya from Qatar. That gives the final day a strong Gulf feel, with some of the best-known names in the sport on the same card.
The feature races include the Golden Saddle for local Arabian purebred male camels, and the Golden Khanjar for local Arabian purebred female camels. Both carry first prizes of AED 500,000.
There is more at stake in the open categories. The Golden Rifle for mixed or crossbreed male camels offers AED 1 million to the winner, while the Golden Sword, known as the Sword of the Emirates, carries the day’s biggest top prize at AED 2 million for the winning female camel.
Across the four headline races, the prize totals rise from AED 1.5 million in Race 1 to AED 1.6 million in Race 2, AED 2.1 million in Race 3, and AED 3.75 million in Race 4.
All four headline races are due to be run over 8km, with winning times expected to come in under 13 minutes. Traditional elements remain central to the occasion, including the ceremonial use of saffron paste on winning camels at the finish.
Big Bus viewing experience
For spectators, the attraction is not only the racing itself but the chance to see one of the UAE’s oldest sports at close quarters. Public entry is free, while a Big Bus viewing experience will run alongside the track on a first come, first served basis. Grandstand hospitality, refreshments and live trophy presentations will also be available.
The wider festival programme continues with morning and evening race sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, before Thursday’s grand finale brings the meeting to a close.
The racetrack sits on Dubai-Al Ain Road, around 30 minutes from the city, making it an accessible afternoon out for residents and visitors alike. For many in Dubai, it is a rare chance to watch elite camel racing in person rather than from a distance.
Beyond the prize money, the final day serves as a reminder of the place camel racing still holds in the sporting and cultural life of the UAE. At Al Marmoom this week, that tradition has been on full view.
