In the early 20th century Egyptian Jockey Club records and the rules in the front of each volume make it clear what were the qualifying categories for each race. Current TB-Arab crosses would be essentially the same as the “country-bred” racing class. These rules were strictly enforced by the staff and commission most of which were prominent British military officers living in Egypt or members of the Egyptian ruling elite. Anyone caught trying to run a country-bred in a Arab only class would be fined and banned from the tracks.” That was the way TB/Arab crossbreds were handled in Egypt back then. They were not looked down upon either.

Prominent members of the Royal Family and other respected people in the racing community sometimes also owned Country-breds and raced them in their own classes. There is the example of H. M. The King racing a horse in the Country-bred class. Of course, the King (Fouad) also raced Pure Arabs such as El Deree. Also there was a class for Thoroughbreds which were usually owned by the British.

You might find it interesting there was a 1927 race in which both Mr. Babson’s *Bint Serra and *Exochorda were in the same race.

Samantha Brooks from her study/paper on Genetic Diversity: “Deregistering these horses all at once would not have good outcomes for the welfare of these beautiful animals,” she said. “And anyway, the issue is widespread enough that there wouldn’t be much of the racing population left. These data document a Thoroughbred breed influence much more expansive than most people realized. It’s just everywhere, really.”