CORAL has been revealed as the new sponsor of the €100,000 handicap hurdle and handicap chase at Leopardstown in January. The British-based bookmaker has never sponsored a race in Ireland before and replaces Boylesports as the sponsor of all seven races on the Sunday, January 17th card at Leopardstown.

Known for many years as the 'Sweeps Hurdle' the valuable handicap hurdle at Leopardstown in January was sponsored by Ladbrokes from 1987 to 2000. It was later sponsored by Pierse Contruction and then Boylesports.

Coral has no betting shops in Ireland but a proposed merger between Gala Coral Group and Ladbrokes is awaiting approval from the Competition and Markets Authority.

The move by Coral to sponsor at Leopardstown may be viewed as a signal to the British racing authorities that Coral and other major betting companies are prepared to walk away from race sponsorships at certain racecourses in Britain rather than pay for 'authorised betting partner' status.

In the last month Betfred has stepped down as sponsor of the Cheltenham Gold Cup and William Hill has threatened to cease sponsoring the King George at Kempton. This weekend's Tingle Creek Chase has also seen a change of sponsor due to the costs associated with gaining 'authorised betting partner' status.

Coral is one of more than 40 betting companies who recently obtained an Irish betting licence, allowing them to take bets from people in Ireland and pay 1% of the turnover to the exchequer.

“We are thrilled to be sponsoring one of Leopardstown’s biggest race meetings of the year, including one of the most prestigious and valuable hurdle races staged in Ireland,” said Simon Clare, Coral PR Director.

Speaking to At The Races, Clare denied that the sponsorship was in response to events in Britain. "This was planned some months ago and it is disappointing if people are putting two and two together and making five. Having said that, it does demonstrate that there are many ways you can spend your marketing pound. No other sponsor in British racing can boast of a longer track record in sponsoring big races in Britain than Coral."

Coral will also be offering a new €100,000 bonus to any horse that can win the Coral.ie Hurdle and go on to land the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival, a big race double that was famously achieved by Xenophon who landed a major gamble in the process back in 2003.

“This is Coral’s first sponsorship venture in Irish horse racing and it gives us the perfect platform to promote the Coral name, our passion for horse racing, and the benefits of our online and mobile betting service to Irish racing fans and punters,” added Clare.

Coral has signed up to sponsor the Coral.ie Hurdle Meeting for an initial period of three years, and already has a high quality sponsorship portfolio featuring some of the longest-standing race sponsorships in the United Kingdom, including the Coral Welsh Grand National since 1973, the Coral-Eclipse since 1976 and the Coral Cup (and before that the Coral Golden Hurdle) at the Cheltenham Festival since 1974.

Pat Keogh, CEO of Leopardstown Racecourse, said today, “We are delighted to welcome Coral to Leopardstown. The two feature races on the day are both steeped in tradition. The Coral.ie Hurdle is always an extremely competitive race and the bonus with the Coral Cup at Cheltenham adds a new dimension that will be very popular. The Coral.ie Chase is one of our oldest races which the legendary Arkle won three times.”

“We look forward to working with Coral to make this a very special day at Leopardstown. We hope that this is the start of a very long relationship with Coral and thank them for their support of Leopardstown,” added Keogh.

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