North American horses headed home from Dubai

A plane carrying 27 North American-based Thoroughbred racehorses was bound for Newark Liberty International Airport from Dubai on Thursday.

Ten of the horses had shipped just last week from the U.S. to start on the Dubai World Cup card on March 28. That racing program was canceled by the Dubai government on March 22 over concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic. Meydan Racecourse, site of the World Cup, had been racing spectator-free since earlier this month.

Dubai racing officials hastily arranged flights back to North America for the people associated with the horses and by Monday evening nearly all racing personnel, from trainers to grooms, were headed back to America. Shipping officials faced a challenge rearranging equine transport during the global pandemic since the American horses had been scheduled to return from Dubai on April 4.

The 27-horse shipment included the 10 recent shippers, other American horses – like Pegasus World Cup winner Mucho Gusto and Tacitus -- that had raced in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 29 and shipped from there to Dubai, and a string of horses California-based Doug O’Neill had campaigned at the World Cup Carnival during February and March. The horses will face a United States Department of Agriculture quarantine upon arriving in New Jersey.

Nearly as many Japan-based horses as Americans were in Dubai for the March 28 races and that group still is awaiting a flight. It had been hoped the horses would fly home on March 27 but that departure date as of Thursday had been pushed back to March 28.