The Dubai World Cup card features nine races worth $30.5 million in purses Saturday, March 28, at Meydan Racecourse with Japanese superstar Forever Young the central attraction coming out of back-to-back wins in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic and $20 million Saudi Cup.

There is plenty of additional star power on the card, including 2025 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Calandagan, a Group 1 winner in Japan, England, and France. Below are the key names to know for the card, beginning with the first Thoroughbred race, the Godolphin Mile Sponsored by Emaar.

Race 2, $1 million Godolphin Mile Sponsored by Emaar, 8:20 a.m. ET

Commissioner King has two wins and two seconds in his last four starts entering the 1,600-meter (about one mile) race, most recently winning the Burj Nahar Sponsored by Emirates Airline by four lengths Feb. 28 at Meydan for trainer Bhupat Seemar. U.S. multiple graded stakes winner Banishing cuts back in distance after finishing unplaced behind Forever Young in the Saudi Cup, while Mendelssohn Bay also returns to the mile distance of his win in the Firebreak Stakes Presented by Longines Jan. 23 at Meydan.

Race 3, $1 million Dubai Gold Cup Sponsored by Al Tayer Motors, 8:55 a.m. ET

Al Riffa should be tough to beat in this 3,200-meter (about two mile) marathon on the grass for trainer Joseph O’Brien. He was a dominant winner of the Irish St. Leger last September at the Curragh and most recently was beaten by 1 ½ lengths in the $3.3 million Longines Hong Kong Vase Dec. 14 at Sha Tin.

Race 4, $1 million United Arab Emirates Derby Sponsored by Jumeirah, 9:30 a.m. ET

Six Speed (Dubai Racing Club)

The UAE Derby is the lone race on the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule to award 100 points to the winner, distributing points to the top five finishers on a 100-60-30-15-10 scale, and there is a lack of U.S. presence in the 1,900-meter (about 1 3/16-mile) race this year due to the war in Iran.

Runaway maiden winner Salloom was an ultra-buzz horse this winter after a 6 ¾-length romp in his career debut Jan. 30 at Meydan going a mile. That remains his lone start to date because he was scratched from a Feb. 25 Road to the Derby Conditions Stakes in Dubai after breaking through the starting gate. He still has plenty of supporters.

Other key contenders include unbeaten Japanese multiple stakes winner Pyromancer, UAE Two Thousand Guineas Presented by Longines winner Six Speed and runner-up Devon Island, and runaway UAE Oaks Sponsored by Deepal winner Labwah taking on the boys.

Race 5, $1.5 million Al Quoz Sprint Sponsored by Azizi Developments, 10:20 a.m. ET

Last year’s Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes winner Lazzat is another race favorite who appears to be in fine form and formidable on Saturday’s Meydan card. The 5-year-old Territories gelding will try to turn the tables on U.S. multiple stakes winner Reef Runner, who defeated Lazzat by a neck in the 1351 Turf Sprint Presented by Qiddiya City on the Saudi Cup undercard. Don’t sleep on Japan-based Lugal, however, who also carries top form into the race with a win, one second, and a third in group stakes sprints in Japan in his last three starts.

Race 6, $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Nakheel, 10:55 a.m. ET

Bentornato returns for his first start since a dominant 2 ¼-length victory in the Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint Nov. 1 at Del Mar. He’s won seven of his 11 career starts and has never been worse than third. The 5-year-old Valiant Minister ridgling deserves to be a heavy favorite in the 1,200-meter (about six furlongs) race. U.S.-based Nakatomi, who finished second in this race a year ago and third in 2024, could be his toughest competition along with Grade 1 winner Lovesick Blues.

Race 7, $5 million Dubai Turf Sponsored by DP World, 11:35 a.m. ET

Last year’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Juddmonte International Stakes winner Ombudsman towers over the opposition on paper in this 1,800-meter (about 1 1/8 miles) turf race. He was among five horses tied for second on the 2025 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings and closed out his 4-year-old season with a four-race stretch that included two wins and two seconds in four Group 1 races.

Race 8, $6 million Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, 12:10 p.m. ET

Calandagan (Eclipse Sportswire)

Calandagan, a Group 1 winner in three different countries, was rated the 2025 Longines World’s Best Racehorse with a 130 rating, two points higher than a group of five horses at 128 that included Ombudsman, Forever Young, and U.S. Horse of the Year Sovereignty. The Gleneagles gelding carries a four-race winning streak into his 5-year-old debut in the 2,410-meter (about 1 ½ miles) Sheema Classic. Among the challengers are 2024 Longines Hong Kong Vase winner (and 2025 Hong Kong Vase runner-up) Giavellotto and Ethical Diamond, the 27.70-1 upset winner of the 2025 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Race 9, $12 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline, 12:45 p.m. ET

Forever Young followed a half-length win over a loaded field in the 2025 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic with a one-length victory in the $20 million Saudi Cup Feb. 14 to boost his career earnings to more than $29.3 million and his international profile even higher. The Japanese-bred and -based superstar has won 11 of his 14 career starts and was among five horses tied for second behind Calandagan on the 2025 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings with a 128 rating.

Expect Forever Young to run well — he’s never been worse than third — in the 2,000-meter (about 1 ¼ miles) race with last year’s Dubai World Cup winner Hit Show, U.S.-based multiple graded stakes winner Magnitude, and Group 2 Al Maktoum Classic Sponsored by Emirates Airline winner Meydaan among the possible spoilers.