Emirates Airlines Drops Sponsorship of Racing Series

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Emirates Airlines has decided to terminate its sponsorship of the World Racing Championships effective Dec. 31, 2001, which is when its current contract ends. The airline and the World Racing Championships organization mutually agreed on the decision, citing the current international climate in the wake of the airplane suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last week.

James E. Bassett III, chairman of the World Racing Championships, made the announcement, adding, "We are most grateful to Emirates Airlines for their crucial support and partnership of the Emirates World Series in its formative period between 1999 and 2001. They have helped us turn a concept for a world championship for Thoroughbreds into a reality, whereby the world's top 12 international races, based in 10 countries and four continents, has achieved the remarkable goal of attracting a TV audience of a billion viewers in 200 countries world-wide. We are also grateful to the world's leading television networks who have responded with such enthusiasm to what is now one of sport's most exciting global contests."

Lord Hartington, deputy chairman of the organization, said, "We are in contact with other potential sponsors who wish to pick up the very considerable promotional advantages demonstrated by this championship, and we will make an announcement in due course. This series has a quite remarkable cachet, staging as it does world-class Thoroughbred racing events in the world's top economic capitals, and enjoying outstanding television and media support."

Maurice Flanagan, the group managing director of Emirates Airlines, added that "We have been honored to have been associated with the Emirates World Series, which has become such a significant world-wide success much quicker than any other global sports championship."

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