Betfair to sponsor King George.

THE King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, run without a sponsor since De Beers pulled out in 2006, is to be backed by Betfair for the next five years.

Britain's premier all-aged Flat race will be valued for the first time at £1m after Ascot and Betfair announced a major new partnership.

Apart from the King George sponsorship, Betfair will support Ascot's premier jumps race, the Ascot Chase, and will also be given starting stalls branding on the Friday of the Royal meeting.

Ascot chief executive Charles Barnett said: "We are delighted to be partnering Betfair in this exciting arrangement and, of course, the sponsorship of our premier race, the King George and Queen Elizabeth stakes, the highlight of what will now be Betfair Weekend at Ascot.

"The King George will be worth £1,000,000 for the first time in 2009, something which we have aspired to for some time and are now able to deliver as a direct result of this partnership."

The King George, which will be run as the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (sponsored by Betfair) was worth £850,000 this year when won by Duke Of Marmalade.

betfair sponsor racing in the uk and now australia but in south africa our racing is booming so much that we turn betfair away..get with it phum and gold circle

Dave

Here’s more info. Note in particular this makes us Britain’s biggest racing sponsor (ignoring the Tote’s legal obligations). Note that we are going to develop new technology so punters can bet from their seats.



Remind me again why the racing authorities in SA think we are bad for racing?







Subject: New Ascot Sponsorship deal -



I am delighted to announce a ground-breaking partnership between Betfair and Ascot racecourse with our sponsorship of the prestigious King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes as the cornerstone of our agreement. The race will be run in July and is worth £1 million for the first-time in its illustrious history making it the second most valuable prize in the racing calendar.



Betfair will also sponsor Ascot's premier national hunt race, which will be run in February and known as the Betfair Ascot Chase. This new initiative makes Betfair the second-biggest sponsor in British racing with only the Tote - which is obligated by law to invest its profits into racing - spending more.



In addition to the headline race sponsorship, we are also entering into a partnership with Ascot to allow us year-round branding at the track, the use of a corporate hospitality facility situated next door to the Royal Box and the opportunity to develop new hand-held betting tools for use by racegoers. We are also aiming to build a Betfair lounge at the track to enable our customers to access their accounts and enjoy our hospitality.



This news has been picked up by many of today’s papers:



Guardian

Telegraph

Independent

Times



The agreement is initially for five years and we hope to see you at one of the many Ascot events throughout the year. Oh, and please don't leave it until the last minute before tracking down the top hat, tails or designer outfits.