( CNN ) -- For one day a year , a desert outpost in the Persian Gulf becomes the center of the horse-racing universe . The Dubai World Cup is the richest horse race on the planet and features the world 's finest thoroughbreds . Hosted at the futuristic Meydan Racecourse every March , upwards of 60,000 people pack the stands , have a flutter and cheer on the action below . The venue is now set to feature at the heart of a much bigger project in the lead up to the World Expo which will take place in the emirate in 2020 . The plan is to build a high-end , mini-city around Meydan , stretching all the way to Dubai 's nearby financial district and the world 's tallest building , the Burj Khalifa . Stage one of this complex process has seen the racecourse transformed into a year-round destination . First came the grandstand , a statement construction over one kilometer long that opened in 2010 . The five-star Meydan Hotel was completed in the same year . Then followed an IMAX cinema , school , tennis center , school and golf course . `` ( In ) 2005 I came here ... there was no thought of Meydan or developments . It was just horse racing , '' said former CEO of Dubai Racing Club , Frank Gabriel . `` All of a sudden within six months we were building a master plan of a race track and a city and the next thing you know we never stopped moving . '' With each addition , Meydan 's purpose has extended beyond its equestrian origins . Stage two is by far the most ambitious element of the project and will feature the development of 1,500 villas over 16 million square meters ( 172 million sq ft ) . The vast housing site -- named Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum City after the ruler of Dubai -- will include parks , lagoons , waterways , jogging tracks , beaches and woodlands . The development aims to take the thoroughbred lifestyle Meydan seeks to embody and recreate it on a massive scale . `` Horse racing and equestrian is the heart and soul of Meydan , '' said Saeed Al Tayer , chairman of Meydan Group . `` That will always be in our pedigree . But developing a city ... it puts us on the global map . '' Four to eight bedroom villas here will cost $ 6,200 per square meter ( $ 579 per sq ft ) , that 's more 40 % above the Dubai average according to real estate consultancy CBRE . The next race at Meydan , it seems , will be finding the well-to-do residents and investors willing to pay these higher rates for the luxury mini-city experience . See also : Can tiny emirate outshine Dubai ? See also : Building for future in Beirut . See also : Billionaires wasteland .
CBRE in Dubai is being transformed in to a mini-city . The site will feature man-made parks , lagoons , one day , beaches and woodlands . Meydan are expected to cost more 40 % more than the Beirut average .