Online Bookie Stan James and The Jockey Club sign five year agreement

Stan James and The Jockey Club sign five year agreement
 
Global online gaming operator, StanJames.com, announced a major five-year sponsorship agreement with The Jockey Club this week that will result in one of the showpiece events at Cheltenham Festival becoming the Stan James Champion Hurdle.
 
The six-figure sponsorship deal represents a major commitment by StanJames.com to The Jockey Club's ‘Racing for Change' initiative, which is designed to modernise racing and broaden its appeal to a wider consumer audience.
 
StanJames.com takes over sponsorship of the Champion Hurdle from Smurfit Kappa and the five-year agreement also includes sponsorship of the Fighting Fifth, Newcastle, The International meeting, Cheltenham, and The Champion Trial, Haydock.
 
Denis Kelly, chief executive of StanJames.com says, "We are delighted to be supporting The Jockey Club with this five-year sponsorship agreement. We have always looked to support racing through key events and high-profile sponsorships so we are delighted to be backing the Stan James Champion Hurdle, the biggest and most valuable hurdle race of the entire season."
 
Kelly continues, "We share the goal of the industry, through ‘Racing for Change', to bring racing back into the public's line of vision, increasing its relevance to sports fans and those with leisure time. I hope that our sponsorship of three of the races on The Road to Cheltenham, including major races at Newcastle and Haydock Park, will help to achieve that aim. This is a significant investment for us and demonstrates our commitment to racing for the long term."
 
Cheltenham managing director Edward Gillespie said, "This is great news for Cheltenham, for Newcastle, for Haydock Park and for British racing at a commercially challenging time. It has long been an ambition of ours to strengthen the narrative running through the jump racing season and, having a single sponsor backing four of the most important two-mile hurdle races, will enable a continuity to the promotion of that category. On behalf of Cheltenham and also the teams at Newcastle and Haydock Park, I'd like to express our enormous gratitude to Stan James for having the vision to back some of the most important races of the season in such a joined-up way."