Sport generates over $700 billion a year. Thoroughbred racing sits at the premium end of that economy, and governments are treating it as strategic infrastructure.
The most sophisticated sovereign strategies in the Gulf are not built around oil revenues alone. They are built around sport, culture, and the global attention economy — and thoroughbred racing sits at their centre.
This Year of the Horse brings with it the largest ever FIFA World Cup, a Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games on top of a myriad of high profile, revenue stimulating sporting leagues and events.
The numbers are compelling. In a typical year, sport generates over $700 billion annually, or approximately 1 percent of global GDP. Sports Tourism matches that sum and is projected to grow to $1.98 trillion by 2034 according to Fortune Business Insights.
These are not niche figures. They represent a category of economic activity that governments are increasingly treating as strategic infrastructure.
Thoroughbred racing sits at the premium end of that category. Events of the scale and prestige of the Dubai World Cup, Saudi Cup and Melbourne Cup have established themselves as core economic contributors to Dubai, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Australia respectively.
Dubai World Cup
Up to $300 million contribution to tourism, hospitality and retail
The Dubai World Cup is one of the most powerful tools in the UAE's economic diversification strategy. The event draws high-net-worth individuals from across the globe, stimulates luxury hospitality, private aviation, and retail, and reinforces Dubai's positioning as a world-class destination for international events.
The Dubai Economic Department estimates the scale of this contribution as being up to $300 million annually (Tourism: $100 – 150 million; Hospitality $50 – 100 million; Retail: $50 – 100 million), with the event not only providing an immediate economic benefit but also fostering long-term growth by strengthening international ties, job creation across various sectors, and international branding.
The UAE's travel and tourism sector recorded the third-fastest growth in the region in 2025, driven in part by the sustained success of large-scale events of this calibre.
Saudi Cup
$150 million – 200 million in brand exposure alone
The Saudi Cup has followed a similar trajectory to Dubai, but with even greater ambition. Established in 2020 with a US$20 million headline purse — the world's most valuable — the event has grown rapidly in both scale and global reach. By 2026, the Saudi Cup was broadcast across more than 200 territories through 35 global media outlets, including Fox Sports in the United States, Sky Sports and Racing TV in the United Kingdom, Sony Pictures Networks across India and the subcontinent, and ESPN across 50 Latin American territories. Industry analysts estimate the brand exposure value of a broadcast footprint of this scale at between $150 million and $200 million for a single event weekend.
That figure does not include the indirect value. The Saudi Cup's "Golden Hour" broadcast package, produced by a BAFTA-winning team, was specifically designed to showcase Riyadh's infrastructure and cultural identity to a global audience — a direct contribution to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 goal of increasing sport's contribution to GDP to $22.4 billion.
Melbourne Cup
AUD848 million to the Australian economy in 2025
The Melbourne Cup is a driver of key channels of the national economy and foundational to the branding of the City of Melbourne. It is an entrenched cultural event in a passionate sporting nation, but many would be surprised to understand the financial contribution to various economic sectors:
Fashion, Groom, Retail: AUD63.4 million
Accommodation: AUD46.6 million
Food & Beverage: AUD35.9 million
The 2025 Melbourne Cup was broadcast to 209 countries and territories and also drives interstate and regional tourism.
These events are soft power in their most commercially sophisticated form. As Dr. Amina Khan, Sports Sociologist at the Global Culture Institute, has observed: "Sports are a unique cultural ambassador. We're seeing unprecedented levels of cross-border interaction during global events. This fosters not just entertainment, but genuine understanding between nations."
The indirect benefits compound over time. A well-structured racing industry sees real money spent across a spectrum of economic sectors and stimulating all levels of an economy. Beyond generating tens of thousands of jobs, it creates national heroes and cultural narratives that resonate across borders. It promotes active lifestyles and demands infrastructure investment that serves communities outside of race days. And it can anchor a calendar of events central to a national tourism campaign.
The question is not whether sports, such as thoroughbred racing, deliver economic value. The evidence is clear. The question is whether the right expertise is in place to blueprint, design, construct and manage these sports so their full value is extracted and the benefits they generate are enjoyed for generations to come.
This is a central contribution Barandu was designed to make.