LADBROKES has been unveiled as the new sponsor of Down Royal’s November Festival of Racing in a three-year partnership. The six-figure deal, the largest in Down Royal’s history, will see the bookmaker take on title sponsorship of the Grade 1 Champion Chase with a prize fund of €140,000, the first Grade 1 race of the National Hunt season in Ireland or Britain.

The long-established two-day Festival, set to run on Friday, November 1st and Saturday 2nd, is the highlight of the racing calendar at Down Royal and the Champion Chase has an exceptional role of honour, including famous names such as Kauto Star, Beef Or Salmon, The Listener, Looks Like Trouble, Florida Pearl and Don Cossack.

The opening meeting of the Festival on Friday, November 1st will see the richest hurdle race in Northern Ireland take place, the Grade 2 WKD Hurdle, while the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Champion Chase will be the centrepiece of the card the following day.

Speaking at the announcement this week, Emma Meehan, chief executive of Down Royal, said: “We are delighted to welcome Ladbrokes to our growing family of key sponsors and partners, and we look forward to working with them over the next three years.

"The most prestigious of our race meetings, the November Festival, is set to be the biggest yet and with attendance up 12% year-on-year, we are anticipating a crowd of over 10,000 over the two days”.

Nicola McGeady, Ladbrokes head of public relations, said: “Ladbrokes has a long and proud association with top-class horse racing and we are thrilled to be embarking on this exciting new sponsorship of the November Festival of Racing at Down Royal.”

The Grade 1 Ladbrokes Champion Chase has held that status since 2002, the fourth year of its existence. It earned that rating having been won in the first two years by Florida Pearl and the Gold Cup winner Looks Like Trouble. Since then the roll of honour of winners reads like a who’s who of equine talent, including Beef Or Salmon and Kauto Star (both dual winners), while more recent winners include Road To Riches and Don Cossack, the latter using the race as a stepping stone to Cheltenham Gold Cup glory.

The last three years have seen the race taken by Valseur Lido, Outlander and Road To Respect.

Following her appointment to the top role at Down Royal when control of racing changed hands, Emma Meehan told The Irish Field: “I am absolutely thrilled to have been appointed to the role of CEO at Down Royal and I very much look forward to driving a new vision for the racecourse and continuing to deliver top-class racing for racegoers.”

Ongoing developments at the track show that she is living up to that promise and the November Festival of Racing is set to be another example of her drive to move racing forward. She has an impressive history to build on and an exciting future to anticipate.