The Dubai-based Maktoum family will tonight receive the prestigious Duke Of Devonshire bronze at the Thoroughbred Breeders` Association`s Annual Awards` Dinner in London.

The Award recognises the enormous input the Maktoum family have made to racing and breeding in Britain after an involvement of nearly 30 years. It is a poignant Award following the death last week of Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum, who with his brothers Sheikh Mohammed, Sheikh Hamdan and Sheikh Ahmed, had enjoyed success at the highest level on the racecourse.

It all began back at Goodwood in 1977, when Hatta landed a lowly contest for Sheikh Mohammed. Since that victory, horses owned by members of the Maktoum family have captured virtually every major race in the international racing calendar, with success coming for each of the brothers in their own right as well as the Godolphin operation.

When Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum and his three brothers spent $6.5 million on eight yearlings at the 1981 Keeneland July Sale under the banner of the Aston Upthorpe Stud, few realised the major change in racing that was on the way.

Sheikh Maktoum`s farms included Gainsborough Stud near Newbury, Woodpark Stud in County Meath, Ballysheehan Stud near Cashel and Gainsborough Farm in Kentucky, which house around 165 broodmares. He was the first member of the family to enjoy classic success in Britain when Touching Wood took the 1992 St Leger and two of his best performers, the sprinters Green Desert and Cadeaux Genereux, have firmly established themselves as among the very best sires of their generation. Sheikh Maktoum`s son Saeed took the Vodafone Derby in 1995 with Lammtarra.

In Sheikh Mohammed`s own silks, the likes of Oh So Sharp, Pennekamp, Diminuendo, Indian Skimmer, Belmez, Old Vic and Pebbles all established themselves as among the very best of their generation. Sheikh Mohammed`s vast breeding operation is spearheaded by his British operation, the 1,800-acre Dalham Hall Stud estate in Newmarket. A man of great vision, Sheikh Mohammed inaugurated the world`s richest race - the Dubai World Cup - in 1996 and has seen it develop into a truly international spectacle.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, an honorary member of the British Jockey Club since 1989, has owned two Vodafone Derby winners, Nashwan (1989) and Erhaab (1994), as well as numerous other big-race winners around the world, including At Talaq and Jeune, who won the Melbourne Cup in 1986 and 1994 respectively. In 2000 he gained his fourth success in the 1000 Guineas when Lahan followed the examples set by Salsabil, Shadayid and Harayir while Nashwan provided him with a first 2000 Guineas victory in 1989, which was emulated by the Barry Hills-trained Haafhd in 2004. A prolific and highly-successful breeder, Sheikh Hamdan owns Shadwell Stud in Norfolk, Beech House Stud in Newmarket, as well as studs in Ireland and Kentucky, which together house over 160 broodmares.

The youngest of the four Dubai-based Maktoum brothers is Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum. He enjoyed his first British classic success with the home-bred Ameerat in the 2002 1000 Guineas at Newmarket. His yellow and black epaulets colours have been carried to victory by the likes of Mtoto in the 1988 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes and Eclipse Stakes (1987 & 1988), Possessive Dancer in the 1991 Irish Oaks, Wassl in the 1983 Irish 2,000 Guineas, Morshdi in the 2002 Italian Derby, Tobougg in the 2001 Darley Dewhurst Stakes and the ill-fated but brilliant filly Bint Allayl. His breeding interests are centred around Aston Upthorpe Stud in Oxfordshire.

Since 1994, a significant number of the Maktoum Family`s runners have run under the Godolphin banner, with a phenomenal record of 124 Group One winners worldwide including a string of household names.