Al Ain, United Arab Emirates – The UAE recently announced the launch of the first edition of the Al Ain Camel Racing Festival at Al Rawdah Racecourse, further cementing its prestigious global standing in organizing camel racing. The festival represents a new window to promote the sports of our forefathers and grandparents, and to preserve Emirati folklore and national identity.
The Al Rawdah Camel Racing Field in Al Ain City embodies the wise leadership’s significant support for the establishment of advanced racecourses and integrated facilities. It also reflects the tremendous efforts made by the Camel Racing Federation to organize and host events related to this traditional sport, providing all the requirements for its excellence, advancement, and development, and offering incentive prizes to participants from within and outside the country.
The festival, organized by the Presidential Racing and Camel Affairs Center under the supervision of the Camel Racing Federation, achieved great success in its first edition, with widespread participation from owners across the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The festival’s competitive and enthusiastic atmosphere reflected the value of this authentic heritage sport, the deep connection to it, and its lasting impact on successive generations.
Hamed Al Nuaimi, the official spokesperson for the Presidential Camel Racing Federation, emphasized that the UAE Camel Racing Federation, headed by His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, Advisor to His Highness the President of the UAE, is setting an inspiring example in organizing races at Al Rawdah Racecourse in Al Ain, and is committed to hosting championships and events dedicated to this sport, which constitutes a genuine national heritage.
He added that the festival was warmly welcomed by owners and participants from both within and outside the country, and achieved great success, confirming the UAE’s leadership in preserving national heritage, its sustainability, and its transmission to future generations.
For his part, Hamad Mohammed Al Shamsi, Chairman of the Technical Committees, explained that the UAE’s opening of the Al Rawda Camel Racecourse in Al Ain represents a new beginning in celebrating authentic national heritage, given that such events provide a meeting place for owners and trainers in distinguished competitions and honorable sporting rivalry, where everyone competes to express their love for the sport of their forefathers.
For his part, Mohammed Abdullah bin A’adid Al Muhairi, from the Camel Racing Federation, said that Al Rawda Camel Racing Field in Al Ain City provides a comprehensive platform for hosting races and bringing together camel enthusiasts in its competitions, which have achieved great success in the preliminary rounds, thanks to the wide participation of camel owners.
The festival will continue until next October, and will include three preliminary rounds during the months of July, August, and September 2025, with a total of 605 rounds for various camel age categories, including weanlings, Haqayiq, Laqaya, Idhaa, Thanaya, Hawl, and Zamoul, with various distances in the competitions scheduled during the morning period.
The timing of the races in the morning was highly praised by the owners, given the low temperatures during the various races, which added to the success and excitement of the races, with a large following from various segments of society.
