The 'Mafareed 2026 Race' at the opening of the new sports season for the Saudi Camel Federation achieved a major investment leap; the current edition of the race, with its three stages (first qualification, second qualification, and final), recorded more than 445 deals for the purchase and transfer of ownership of camels, with a total value exceeding 65 million riyals.

Mazen Al-Asraj, Director of Corporate Communication at the Saudi Camel Federation, confirmed to Al-Eqtisadiah that the escalating numbers and statistics accurately reflect the extent of unlimited support that the camel sector receives from the leadership in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Asraj added: 'The Mafareed race has become the main pillar for the season's opening, not just a competitive sporting event; rather, it is an integrated economic platform that proves year after year that the camel sector represents one of the promising investment streams in Saudi sports.'

Partnership between the federation and the private sector. Al-Asraj explained that the continuous and successful partnership between the federation and the private sector, along with marketing innovations such as pricing rounds, directly contributed to enhancing the confidence of owners and producers and stimulating the local market and competition fields, and he said: 'We are committed at the Saudi Camel Federation to continue developing this investment system and achieving the aspirations of Saudi Vision 2030 in diversifying the national economy through the sports and heritage tourism gateways.'

A new regulatory and incentive leap. For its part, the Saudi Camel Federation launched a new regulatory and incentive leap through comprehensive innovations in the 'Trainer of the Season Award' (within the Zirwat Sanam 2026 initiative) for the 2026-2027 racing season, which is exclusively allocated to active Saudi trainers in the federation's system, empowering national cadres and offering quarter-million prizes for the trainer of the season. This is an extension of the federation's efforts to develop the sports system in an integrated manner and complement the investment maturity.

Prizes worth half a million riyals. The federation allocated financial prizes for those who obtain the first three positions; the first-place winner receives a financial reward of 250,000 riyals, the second-place winner receives 150,000 riyals, and the third-place winner receives 100,000 riyals.

The award is based on a precise and codified mechanism for calculating points in the symbol rounds (Open - General - Saudi Production), and is divided into two categories: the first category includes (the King Abdulaziz Camel Racing Award, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Festival, and the Crown Prince Festival) and grants winners 15, 10, and 5 points for the first three positions respectively. The second category includes cups (Ministry of Sports, Saudi Olympic Committee, and Saudi Camel Federation) and grants winners 10 points for the first place and 5 points for the second and third places, with the condition that the camel's points are not counted for the new trainer in case its ownership is transferred during the season.