Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), the governing body of horse racing in the country, announced a new sponsor, O’Driscoll’s Irish Whiskey, just the latest of several sponsorship deals announced over the last 18 months, CDC Gaming Reports noted January 28.
The latest sponsor comes as the industry is grappling with what some members consider existential threats posed by proposed gambling restrictions being mulled in the Irish Dail, and due to take effect this spring.
The Gambling Regulation Bill is the first significant gambling law update in the Republic of Ireland in about 80 years.
Of course, sponsors are also potential allies, and one from a sector normally not associated with gambling is a good get.
Paul Dermody, director of commercial and marketing and CEO at HRI, said that although gambling and racing have a “symbiotic relationship,” that HRI wants to broaden its appeal.
“The more of those brands and categories you have, the more vehicles you have to talk to the brand consumers about coming racing or engaging with the sport of horse racing,” he told the Business Post.
He continued, “We have seen a real growth in interest from indigenous companies, which as an Irish industry and a commercial semi-state, that is something we are particularly proud of, whether that is O’Driscoll Irish Whiskey or Timeless Sash Windows, all of those things are very positive to us.”
HRI’s commercial team has been busy for many months securing non-racing partnerships, including MSL Motors, Boylesports, the Irish Racing Yearbook, Timeless Sash Windows, McCann FitzGerald and Savills.
Among the proposals in the Gambling Regulation Bill that is alarming the racing industry is to forbid bookmaker ads between 5:30 a.m. and 9 p.m., even on Racing TV.
HRI supports many of the bill’s objectives. It continues to be in talks with the junior justice minister in charge of gambling, James Browne.
Dermody said, “We are continuing to engage with minister Brown and his team on the entire bill, but particularly any aspects that would concern us…we will continue to do that to try and resolve that part of the bill, but the overall objectives are very much in line with what we would support.”
The sponsorship will give priority pouring to O’Driscoll at all four HRI racecourses. It goes along with the sponsorship of the O’Driscoll’s Irish Whiskey Leopardstown Chase on Day 2 of Dublin Racing Festival, February 3 and 4, where there will be “bespoke” whiskey bars at each venue.
Dermody noted that the deal with O’Driscoll’s came about during the discussion of the Leopardstown festival. It was then quickly extended to cover all four racetracks. “While for most people it is part of the entertainment package of coming racing, from a business perspective it is obviously a driver of our finances and a factor in our media rights,” Dermody told the Post.
In a separate but related development the U.K. bookmaker William Hill has added four new horse racing ambassadors in an effort to expand its reach in Ireland, Yogonet reported.
They include Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer Gavin Cromwell; National Hunt jockeys J. J. Slevin and Sean Flanagan; and broadcaster and presenter Jane Mangan.
The ambassadors will provide video content and blogs for the company’s social media platforms, creating horse racing content.
The announcements were made in advance of the Dublin Racing Festival.
William Hill also announced it was extending by three years its sponsorship of the William Hill Champion Chase during the Punchestown Festival and its sponsorship of several other races.
It has also announced a partnership with Off the Ball, an Irish sports media firm to provide content in coming months.
William Ireland Marketing Head Andrew McCleave commented, “William Hill has a long proud history in horse racing, specifically in the UK, and for 2024 we want to position ourselves at the heart of racing in Ireland as well.”
