HOLLYWOODBETS announced this week an extension of its sponsorship with Dundalk Stadium for another three months, taking it up to March 31st. This new deal will cover all 17 Dundalk race meetings from January through to the end of March.

Included in this sponsorship will be the naming rights for races during the period, as well as the feature race meeting scheduled for March 5th, where the headline event is the Listed Patton Stakes.

Jim Martin, CEO of Dundalk Stadium, welcomed news of the enhanced support. He said: “We are delighted that Hollywoodbets has decided to extend its sponsorship here at Dundalk Stadium. We believe the partnership has been fantastic and we are thankful for their continued support of Irish acing.”

Hollywoodbets is a South African-based horse racing and sports betting operator, and recently licensed its brand to operations in the Ireland and Britain. It chose to get its footing in Ireland by partnering with the country’s only all-weather racecourse.

Included in the sponsorship is the Hollywoodbets Punters Challenge, which allows the public to test their tipping talents on each of the 17 Dundalk race meetings to be staged over the next three months. There is a €300 prize pot up for grabs at every meeting, a total prize fund of €5,100 over the period. Taking part in the competition is free, having an active Hollywoodbets account being the only requirement for entry.

Players also have the opportunity to donate their winnings to the Irish Horse Welfare Trust, and to date €3,195 has been raised for that worthy organisation. More information on the competition can be found here

Awareness of the Hollywoodbets’ brand has increased significantly in Ireland through the Dundalk sponsorship, and the partnership has also seen an increase in turnover on racing at the Co Louth track back in South Africa.

The company is hoping to carry this momentum into the New Year, and plan to take the sponsorship even further once punters and racegoers are allowed to return to the track.

More information on Hollywoodbets and its extensive horse racing, sports betting and casino games offering, can be found by visiting hollywoodbets.ie

Hollywoodbets has added its name to 28 races run at Dundalk since September 2020, not including last night’s fixture, and the first race it was associated with was the Hollywoodbets Apprentice Handicap, won by the Ger Lyons-trained Ela Katrina. This was one of the first winners for the fledgling talent, jockey Sam Ewing, and the filly herself is unbeaten in three runs at Dundalk.

Leading rider

The year 2020 saw a close run race for the honour of being the leading rider at Dundalk, Declan McDonagh, with a fine strike rate of 17% and 22 wins, getting the better of Ronan Whelan who partnered 21 winners. Colin Keane and Gavin Ryan tied for the minor placings with 17 wins each.

There was a bit of a gap when it came to the leading trainer award, Joseph O’Brien’s battalion of runners eliciting 31 wins, compared to 20 for Ado McGuinness. Eglish with four wins and Bowerman, unbeaten in three 2020 outings at Dundalk, were the main flagbearers for McGuinness.

When it comes to punting, John McConnell is the man to follow and his 18 wins would have yielded at profit of €37 to a €1 stake. Michael Halford’s 17 wins put him in fourth place, while Dundalk specialist Ger Lyons had a 22% strike rate, his 15 wins coming from just 67 starts.

Finally, Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s runners made just a dozen starts but resulted in seven wins, while owner James McAuley also celebrated seven victories, but these came from 99 runs.