One of the most eagerly awaited moments of the year is approaching.
No, it's not Christmas, with its unmistakable South Tyrolean charm. It's something that, for 87 years, has thrilled an entire city and turned Merano into a grand international stage.
The gates of the Maia Racecourse are about to open, and the gallop is ready to take centre stage. Not just for the races themselves, but for everything that happens around the track: the outfits chosen for the occasion, the crowd in the stands, the toasts, the music, the shows, and that particular sense of anticipation that builds moment by moment, right up to the start.
On Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September 2026, Maia will once again be the grand stage for the Meeting of the 87th Gran Premio Merano Alto Adige, one of the most eagerly awaited events of the Italian horse racing season and one of the events that has done the most to link Merano's name with the world of international racing. Here, the horse remains the absolute protagonist. But around the track, something bigger takes shape: a day that brings together sport, tradition, high society and lifestyle.
Elegance takes the stage
At Maia, elegance is part of the show, finding its most recognisable expression in the Lady Fashion and Mister Fashion contest, a style-focused event that transforms the parterre into a true open-air catwalk.
It's a tradition that belongs to the history of the Gran Premio and that, year after year, helps build that special atmosphere which sets Merano's race day apart from ordinary racing days: hats, outfits, carefully chosen details and personal interpretations of style thus become an integral part of the event.
For a few hours, the Maia Racecourse isn't just a place to watch the races: it's a space to experience, observe and talk about.
The Gran Premio Merano Alto Adige, scheduled for Sunday 27 September, is the symbolic race of the weekend: a steeplechase over 5,000 metres, along one of the most distinctive courses in Italian jump racing. Saturday will already be a significant day in its own right, with seven races on the card and two particularly anticipated events: the 82nd Premio delle Nazioni – Crystal Cup and the 9th Gran Premio Haflinger.
Among the Racecourse's spaces, the Merano WineFestival Preview also returns, now in its XXXV edition: a taste of the event that, from 6 to 10 November 2026, will once again bring some of the finest names in wine to Merano. At Maia, wine thus becomes part of the day's story alongside gastronomy, the Champagneria, and offerings designed for the public.
This is also one of the elements that makes the Gran Premio such a wide-ranging event: you can come for the races and end up experiencing an entire day of sport, taste, encounters and spectacle.
For younger visitors, there will also be ponies, while those who want to enjoy the Racecourse at a more relaxed pace can take a break between events in the dining areas.
That's the special thing about Maia: the track isn't a boundary, but the centre around which a much broader experience is built.
The weekend that puts Merano in the spotlight
The Meeting of the 87th Gran Premio Merano Alto Adige thus arrives as the great event of late September.
Two days in which Merano brings together the universal language of sport with the more refined language of elegance, creating an event that speaks to horse racing enthusiasts, but also to those looking for a different kind of day out, filled with fashion, wine, gastronomy, music and spectacle.
At Maia, the Gran Premio isn't just a race. It's a scene. And on 27 September, that scene will light up once again.
Tickets are available online and at the Racecourse's ticket office on race days.
Find out more at ippodromomerano.it/gpmerano/
© Una gita fuoriporta editorial team