William Hill Extends Doncaster Racecourse Deal

The long-established bookmaker William Hill has been an important supporter of British horse racing for decades and it continues to offer important financial backing up and down the country.

The firm already sponsors horse racing at Doncaster but has just announced an extension to that contract that will see more events linked to the William Hill brand in the future.

Extension

Among the highlights of the latest deal is the news that Hills will be sponsoring the two-day Grimthorpe Chase meeting which takes place in March with 14 top class events in prospect. The future of the St Leger has also been tied up with William Hill extending their sponsorship of this important race which goes off in September.

While the reports concerned don’t mention the numbers involved, it’s likely to be a lucrative deal and this is certainly an extension that suits both parties.

Impressed

We were really impressed with ARC and Doncaster during our first year as sponsors of the St Leger and we’re delighted to extend our partnership with the new William Hill Grimthorpe sponsorship.

confirmed Liam McKee, William Hill’s head of retail marketing.

In response, David Leyden Dunbar who is group director of partnerships at ARC, who own the course, stated:

We are delighted to further develop the partnership between ARC, Doncaster Racecourse and William Hill with this new sponsorship.

Both the William Hill and Doncaster Racecourse teams worked together to deliver a memorable first year of the William Hill St Leger Festival and this will offer a further opportunity to grow that relationship.

Vital

Recent news hasn’t exactly been positive for William Hill so this announcement will be seen as something of a relief to a certain extent. While horse racing is arguably second only to football in terms of the sponsorship money that it receives, it remains vital for the sport to continue to receive the backing of the top bookmakers in order for it to continue to thrive.

Financial backing allows the organisers to maintain and to increase prize money so that the best runners are competing at the meetings in question. In the case of the St Leger, this classic renewal is guaranteed to bring a world class declaration but for the smaller events, their future is not quite so certain and this is why a contract such as this one between William Hill and Doncaster racecourse is so welcome.

Positive Steps

We always say that the best sponsorship deals are the ones that provide balance and for the ARC company and for Doncaster Racecourse as a whole, they will be mightily pleased to have extended and increased the scope of their contract with William Hill.

As for Hills themselves, this increases their own exposure in the world of horse racing but it’s also a very timely deal at a point where the operator would be grateful for some good news so overall, it’s an arrangement that has come close to finding that perfect balance between the two parties.