Crown Prince Camel Festival 2026 Trophy Races Begin

The trophy races of the eighth Crown Prince Camel Festival 2026 get under way at the historic Taif Camel Racing Track, with the first trophy races held on Saturday, 4 September 2026, coinciding with the conclusion of the Haqayiq category. The full festival runs from 3 to 13 September 2026, spanning 11 days.

This year's edition features 248 races across the officially recognized categories — Haqayiq, Laqaya, Jadh'a, Thanaya, Heel and Zamoul — alongside special Saudi-production races. Total prize money for the 2026 edition exceeds SAR 50 million. The first trophy races evening session carries prizes exceeding SAR 6 million, while the concluding evening session offers SAR 6.1 million.

First-place prizes in the six trophy races range from SAR 400,000 to SAR 700,000. The organizing committee allocates SAR 90,000 for each general morning and evening race, distributed among the top 10 finishers, while trophy race prizes go to the top five finishers in each race.

What the program includes

The festival opens with the Haqayiq category — 92 heats over three days, each 2 km. The Thanaya category runs over 6 km across 20 races (16 morning and 4 evening cup races), while the Heel and Zamoul categories each feature 20 races over 6 km with the same split.

A new Crown Prince Camel Festival Cup is introduced in 2026, restricted to Saudi participants, with a SAR 500,000 prize for the owner who accumulates the highest number of points across the festival's races. In case of a points tie, the winner is decided first by the number of championship titles won during the season.

The 2026 edition also debuts Mazayen (beauty) competitions in cooperation with Camel Club, focusing on the Mafarid category over three days. The Taif event additionally hosts Arab rounds for non-Gulf Arab member federations at Taif Camel Square, underscoring the festival's growing role in supporting heritage and camel sports across the region.

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