Betfair annouced Dec. 3 it has worked out a five-year sponsorship deal with Royal Ascot.
The seven-figure sponsorship revolves around the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Eng-I). The value of the race has been boosted from £850,000 to £1 million for 2009.
Said Stephen Burn, Betfair’s director of horse racing, "We are very pleased that Ascot understands our business and are keen to work with us in a way that we have been hoping to work with racing for such a long time--the Ascot executive has been very forward thinking.
"We don’t want to just attach our name to the King George; we desire a more deep-rooted and fundamental partnership with racing, to try and bring new customers to Ascot and the sport, as well as maintaining existing ones.”
Added Charles Barnett, Ascot’s chief executive, "The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (sponsored by Betfair) is a headline agreement over five years which Ascot and Betfair believe will develop into a wider commercial relationship.”
The Ascot sponsorship will involve the establishment of Betfair lounges at Ascot for new and existing Betfair customers. A Betfair education trailer will be located inside Ascot at all the Berkshire course’s fixtures to assist racetrack attendees.