THE recent news that Ballymore will no longer continue its sponsorship of the opening novice hurdle on day two of the Cheltenham Festival has shone an interesting spotlight on the wider race sponsorship landscape at the greatest show on turf.

What was described by Ballymore as the rotation of its “sponsorship cycles” means that the total number of races without a backer at the meeting has seemingly grown to six. Overall, 21.4% of the Cheltenham Festival’s races now have no title sponsor.