SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
London headquartered Smarkets has agreed a horseracing sponsorship deal for the very first time, as revealed in The Racing Post.
The betting exchange has entered the agreement with The Jockey Club, covering 35 fixtures throughout 2018, beginning at Wincanton this coming Saturday (January 6).
Covering 11 of The Jockey Club’s 15 strong racecourse portfolio, including Aintree, Epsom, Haydock and Sandown, the deal spans over ten per cent of its 348 meeting scheduled to take place this year.
In total Smarkets, who were recently chief sponsor of Queens Park Rangers, will be sponsoring 240 races, including the Rose of Lancaster Stakes at Haydock in August.
Jason Trost, Chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Jockey Club and to be integrating our industry-leading betting exchange into the live horseracing experience.
“The breadth of Jockey Club race days Smarkets will be sponsoring this year is a clear indication of our commitment to the sport, which is one of the most popular on our platform.”
This news follows on from The Jockey Club’s announcement towards the end of 2017, that it is set to commit record prize money contributions for this year.
A £4.2m increase sees Jockey Club Racecourses (JCR) contribute £27.1 million to prize money from its own resources, subject to abandonments and spread across all levels of the sport.
