Dubai World Cup Chairman Benton Resigns

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Les Benton, chairman of the Dubai World Cup and chief executive of the Emirates Racing Association, submitted his resignation last week and will leave for Australia in mid-June.

Benton told Racing Post his decision to leave Dubai was made in January, but he didn't notify officials until recently because he didn't want the World Cup program to be affected by personnel issues.

"The situation created by the war in Iraq meant the build-up was difficult enough," Benton said. "The fact we went ahead with such a high quality of racing and no problems was a tribute to everyone who worked on the event."

Benton has helped build the Dubai racing program for the past four years after previously serving the Victoria Racing Club in promoting the Melbourne Cup (Aus-I).

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