FAIRYHOUSE Racecourse is the latest racecourse to announce a major sponsorship boost. On Monday it revealed that BoyleSports, Ireland’s largest independent bookmaker who has sponsored the iconic Irish Grand National since 2014, will continue to put its name to the richest contest in Irish jumps racing for another four years.

The 2020 renewal of the €500,000 BoyleSports Irish Grand National, which this year also marks the 150th anniversary of the race, is the centrepiece of the three-day Easter Festival at the Co Meath track.

This year, the Easter Festival runs from Saturday, April 11th to Monday, April 13th and the feature BoyleSports Irish Grand National will go to post at 5pm on Easter Monday.

Peter Roe, general manager of Fairyhouse Racecourse said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with BoyleSports, especially for the 150th anniversary of the race. The BoyleSports Irish Grand National is a truly iconic Irish sporting event with such a long and illustrious history, so we are thrilled to work with an indigenous and innovative Irish brand such as BoyleSports who have been involved in the betting industry for over three decades from their base in Dundalk.

“We have exciting plans to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the BoyleSports Irish Grand National over the entire three days of our Easter Festival, and we look forward to working with BoyleSports to deliver a very special racing and social experience for all our customers.”

Leon Blanche, head of communications at BoyleSports, said: “BoyleSports are really proud to sponsor such a prestigious and valuable race on the Irish sporting calendar, and with a pot of €500,000 up for grabs at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday we’re going to relish what is certain to be another very competitive renewal.

“As a company we pride ourselves on our continued commitment to Irish racing, and with this four-year deal taking us up to 10 years as the main sponsor of such an iconic race, we can look forward with vigour to some thrilling contests in the showpiece event on the Irish National Hunt calendar.”

BoyleSports is the largest and most successful independently owned bookmaker on the island of Ireland. Founded in 1989 by John Boyle, the business has grown to over 317 shops in Ireland and in Britain and now offers telephone, mobile and internet betting and gaming services in Ireland, in Britain and in a range of other international markets.

BoyleSports has its Irish headquarters in Dundalk, Co Louth. The company currently employs approximately 2,000 staff. BoyleSports also operates seven racecourse shops in Ireland at Fairyhouse, Gowran Park, Killarney, Thurles, Tipperary, Tramore and Wexford.

Last month BoyleSports acquired William Hill’s chain of 33 shops in Northern Ireland and two further shops on the Isle of Man. This has been BoyleSports’ largest acquisition to date, bringing its total number of shops in Northern Ireland to 39, its number of shops on the island of Ireland to 298 and its total retail footprint across Ireland and in Britain to 317 shops. The latest acquisition, which represents a full takeover of all William Hill retail operations in both Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, is a significant step in BoyleSports ambition to grow its British retail network to 100 shops by the end of 2020.

The BoyleSports Irish Grand National is the most valuable National Hunt race in Ireland. The handicap steeplechase, which has been run at Fairyhouse Racecourse since 1870, is competed for over three miles and five furlongs and runners and riders face 24 fences. The race is limited to a maximum of 30 runners.