Entain will spearhead a new initiative to bring together some of the biggest fixtures in the horse racing calendar, just as many other bookmakers tone down their involvement with the sport.
The Ladbrokes Coral owner will launch The Festive Four alongside a plethora of horse racing organisations – a four-day programme across the Christmas period at Kempton Park, Chepstow and Newbury.
It will also crown its own leading jockey and leading trainer, with trophies on offer for the top performers across the festival.
In an attempt to make The Festive Four more accessible to race going fans, a £64 ticket, which enables purchasers to attend every day of the event from 26 December-29 December, will go on sale.
Other organisations involved with the launch of The Festive Four alongside Entain are The Jockey Club, Arena Racing Company (ARC), Newbury Racecourse, Racecourse Media Group (RMG), the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), ITV Racing and Great British Racing (GBR).
“Racing over Christmas is already one of the most important periods of the jump racing season, with some of our greatest heritage races taking place at a time when racing and sports fans love attending the races or settling down to enjoy the action on ITV,” said Entain Director, Simon Clare.
“The Festive Four makes this special period even better. By spreading these great fixtures across four consecutive days, we’re giving fans more of what they love, with a major racing occasion to look forward to every day.
“It’s a fantastic four-day package of top-class jump racing and a great opportunity to showcase our sport to a wider audience over Christmas.”
Entain goes the opposite way to some rivals
The programme comes in what has been a period of struggle for both bookmakers and horse racing.
Its launch may take the sting out of the blow that the sport felt last week, when Fred Done’s Betfred announced that it will cut its sponsorship of the British Classics horse racing events from next year.
In fact, many bookmakers – notably bet365, Betfred, Flutter Entertainment, Jennings Bet, Star Sports and BetGoodwin – are toning down their sponsorships of horse racing, according to a recent study.
This is placing an already-under pressure sport completely under the pump, so Entain going against the grain in involving itself in a new initiative like this one may well come as welcome relief to leadership figures within the industry.
With ITV Racing involved in the initiative, all four days will be live on ITV for the first time, adding another revenue boost for the sport.
Simon Durrant, General Manager at Kempton Park, added: “The Ladbrokes Christmas Festival, on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th December, is one of the highlights of the jump racing calendar, and we’re delighted that the fixture will play an important part in this exciting new initiative.
“The Festive Four builds on the incredible heritage of our Christmas meetings, helping to promote the sport through an important and busy period of action, creating four days of racing for fans to enjoy.
“We look forward to welcoming racegoers to Kempton Park over the festive period and being part of a fantastic celebration of jump racing.”
