No booze, no betting – so how does racing create the roar? Try leaning into the drama.

Standing at the furlong pole in the baking hot Arabian sun, surrounded by the great and the good of world racing, I was eagerly anticipating Forever Young’s bid to become the first dual winner of the world’s richest race. The Saudi Cup meeting is now in its seventh year and firmly established on the international calendar. Vast prize money attracts runners from all the major racing jurisdictions and, purely in terms of the action on track, it stands comfortably alongside the region’s largest meetings. But one question stood out: what actually makes a day at the races feel exciting?

After an overnight flight home I sat and considered that question while watching a cold and wet Musselburgh meeting. Where there is still ground to make up when it comes to the Saudi Cup is in creating the atmosphere and buzz that many of us take for granted when attending major racedays elsewhere. How you do that in a country that allows neither alcohol nor betting was a topic that came up repeatedly from those of us in Riyadh.

For those unaware, the Saudi Cup also acted as the anchor for this year’s Asian Racing Conference, one of the biggest gatherings in global racing. Senior figures from across the sport were there discussing everything from equine welfare to artificial intelligence, but the conversation that kept resurfacing was a familiar one: how does racing attract new audiences in an increasingly competitive entertainment world?

The answers were what you would expect; concerts, fan zones, better ways of explaining the sport to newcomers. All perfectly sensible, but listening to those discussions it struck me again that racing already has something most sports would give anything for: the ability to create unforgettable memories on any given day.

Whether it’s Sprinter Sacre rising from the ashes to regain his Champion Chase crown, Delta Work downing stablemate Tiger Roll in the Cross Country to deny him a sixth festival success, or a Monday evening at Windsor watching low-grade handicaps with friends over a drink, racing delivers experiences that stay with you. Experiences that become stories you tell years later. Experiences that turn casual interest into lifelong attachment, which was certainly my route into the sport as an 18-year-old going racing for the first time.

Which brings me back to Saudi. Strip away betting and alcohol, two things that play a huge role in atmosphere at many race meetings, and you are left asking a very simple question: what actually drives engagement on course?

What creates that shared roar as the field swings for home?

What makes someone care about the result if they haven’t backed a horse?

They are uncomfortable questions in some ways, because betting has been part of racing’s fabric for centuries. But they are also useful ones. Racing at its best is about anticipation, tension, uncertainty and release. Emotions that don’t depend entirely on having a betting slip in your pocket (or on your phone). But can you truly create a sporting atmosphere that rivals Wembley, Wentworth or Wimbledon without a crowd who are emboldened by booze or invested in the outcome of a race through their betslips? I’d say this is one of the biggest questions facing horseracing globally right now and if anyone has the answer, I expect to see them on stage at the next Asian Racing Conference.

Think about Cheltenham. Yes, the Guinness flows and you’d do well to find many in the Village who haven’t had a punt, but the roar that greets the first race on Tuesday isn’t just about wagers. It’s about tradition, expectation and the anticipation of four days of the best atmosphere in racing. That emotional connection is racing’s real strength.

Saudi Arabia has not solved the atmosphere challenge yet, far from it. But the situation does highlight something important for the rest of the sport. As betting regulation evolves and younger audiences consume sport differently, racing cannot assume that wagering alone will always drive engagement in the way it once did.

The sport’s future growth will depend on its ability to lean into the drama that already exists. Racing doesn’t need a script; it produces heroes, villains, and heartbreak on its own. It’s why, even while watching a wet Sunday at Musselburgh after a hot Saturday in Riyadh, the mind doesn’t just stay on the current race, but drifts back to those moments that stick with you. The roar for Sprinter Sacre or groan for Tiger Roll. Because at its best, racing isn’t about the slip in your pocket or the value of a race; it’s about those experiences that turn a Wednesday afternoon at Cheltenham into a story you’re still telling years later.

Sam McDermaid is head of racing partnerships at the Racing Post