Dubai Carnival - Bites the dust!

Dubai World Cup night cancelled due to coronavirus fears

Dubai World Cup night at Meydan next Saturday has been cancelled with the organising committee citing safeguarding the health of all participants during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The fixture, which holds six Group 1s and two Group 2 contests including the Dubai World Cup and Dubai Sheema Classic, is the latest global sporting event to be cancelled with the pandemic continuing to escalate.

Among the star-studded contenders set to have lined up were 2018 Melbourne Cup scorer Cross Counter, the globe-trotting Benbatl and recent Jebel Hatta winner Barney Roy.

Having announced that the meeting, which has a total prize fund of US$35million (£30.04 million/€32.52 million), would be held behind closed doors earlier in the month the Dubai Media Authority confirmed in a tweet that the bonanza had been cancelled.

“To safeguard the health of all participants, the higher organising committee of the Dubai World Cup 2020 has decided to postpone the 25th edition of the global tournament to next year.”

As of Sunday afternoon, coronavirus cases had reached over 300,000 across the world with more than 13,000 deaths recorded.

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