February 20 - Although recently retired, champion jockey Michael Kinane has not stopped contributing to horseracing it seems, after the Dubai Racing Club Board recently appointed the Irishman as Ambassador of the inaugural Meydan Masters, an international jockeys challenge, on March 5, 2010.

'Michael Kinane would have been here but for his retirement,' said Dubai Racing Club Board Member Malih Lahej Al Basti, 'So we thought it would only be fitting that he should be here as the Ambassador for the inaugural Meydan Masters jockeys challenge. In the world of racing, he needs no introduction.'

Kinane is expected to be the face of the Meydan Masters, a jockeys challenge that will no doubt attract the best riders from all over the world. What will make the Meydan Masters unique, is that all of the competing jockeys must have won at least one of the world's premier races during the previous year.

And although some top jockeys will be absent from the challenge (including Mike Smith who won last year's Breeders' Cup Classic aboard Zenyatta and Calvin Borel who won last year's Kentucky Derby aboard Mine That Bird) as a result of previous commitments, many others top jocks have accepted.

These include American Kent Desormeaux, who won last year's Belmont Stakes in fine style aboard Summer Bird; Irishman Jamie Spencer, who won last year's Irish Oaks aboard Sariska; and Englishman Richard Hills, who delivered a jaw-dropping ride to win last year's 1000 Guineas aboard Ghanaati.

Said Dubai Racing Club CEO, Frank Gabriel Jr., 'The way racing is now, top class jockeys have international commitments and we are mindful of that but Kent Desormeaux, Jamie Spencer and Richard Hills are all masters of their profession, and we are equally excited that they have accepted our invitation.

'Michael has been a great supporter of horseracing in Dubai, having ridden at every Carnival from 2004 to 2009. His record is second to none and is counted amongst the best the world has ever seen. No other jockey in the long and rich history of horseracing has achieved what he has,' said Gabriel Jr.