New Racing Research For Gold Cup

Jockey Club Racecourses (JCR) and Racing Enterprises Limited (REL) have revealed a new report into corporate sponsorship of Jump Racing – suggesting that a third of sponsors of Jump Racing generate benefits of over £250,000 from their investment.

The report coincides with one of the biggest events of the year in the horse racing calendar, the Cheltenham Festival, as well as St Patrick’s Day.

The Festival is a showcase for sponsorship in the sport, with a waiting list to sponsor the most popular races.

The survey found that demand for sponsorship opportunities was outstripping supply, even among existing sponsors, only 70% agreed that there are enough opportunities to become involved in sponsoring Jump Racing.

Rod Street, co-sponsor of the report and chief executive of Racing Enterprises Limited, said: ‘Under the Racing for Change initiative, we are aiming to broaden the appeal of the sport with the precise objectives of increasing participation and revenues.  This is a virtuous circle – by increasing the number and quality of our audiences we increase Racing’s value to its current and potential sponsors’.

Sponsorship of Jump Racing brought £10m to the sport during 2009-10 and is continuing through the current season.

The report suggests that the majority of the sponsors surveyed (92%) cited corporate entertainment and hospitality to help drive sales as a prime motivation for sponsorship, while increasing brand exposure and awareness was cited as a primary motivation for sponsorship by 90% of sponsors.

Peter McNeile, co-sponsor of the report and director of sponsorship at Cheltenham Racecourse said: ‘We have always believed that these brands choose to invest in the sport for hard-headed business reasons and that assumption is borne out by the findings of this report.  We offer sponsors the highest quality environment and races, so their brands can be associated with passion and excellence’.