New sponsors are needed for the Guineas Festival at Newmarket, the King George weekend at Ascot and the British Champion Series.
The Qatar Investment and Project Development Holding Co (QIPCO) is stepping back from those events in 2025 but has extended its backing of British Champions Day at Ascot through to 2026.
David Redvers, Qatar Racing’s Manager, and the sponsor’s representative said: “Their Royal Highnesses Sheikhs Hamad and Fahad al Thani’s earliest involvement in British Racing came with the commitment to helping promote the top-tier of the sport. They remain proud of the success of QIPCO British Champions Day – which is a rare innovation in racing. In addition to cementing the day’s status in the world horseracing calendar, we are thrilled to have grown a new, younger audience to attend the races that day, showcasing the sport we have to offer to the fans of the future.”
QIPCO British Champions Day will be worth £4m when it takes place on Saturday 19th October this year. Last year, the 13th renewal of the fixture at Ascot, saw the third largest crowd on the day for a decade with 30,412 in attendance to enjoy Frankie Dettori’s last day in the saddle in the UK.
British Champions Day is owned by British Champions Series Limited which has shareholders from across British racing including The Jockey Club, Ascot Racecourse, Great British Racing, Arena Racing Company and Goodwood, Newbury and York Racecourses.
However, QIPCO will relinquish its sponsorship of the Guineas Festival at Newmarket in May, King George weekend at Ascot in July and British Champions Series as from 2025.
Explaining the decision, Redvers added: “We wish to concentrate our focus on developing British Champions Day, along with our partnership with Ascot at the Royal meeting. We feel we have helped to develop the Series in the last 14 years and are proud that it has over one million followers on social media platforms and has delivered The Hall of Fame and Club 26, which recently celebrated its 10,000th member in just over a year since it was launched. We will continue to be huge advocates of British Champions Series.
“We are also proud to have helped Newmarket maintain the importance of the Guineas Festival during our involvement, which includes record prize money for the two Classic races.”
Amy Starkey, Managing Director at Jockey Club Racecourses. said: “On behalf of everyone at Newmarket Racecourses and The Jockey Club, I would like to thank QIPCO for their sustained support and passion for the 2000 and 1000 Guineas across the last 14 years.
“The growth of the Guineas Festival since 2011 is testament to QIPCO’s continued investment in British Racing and it has been a pleasure to work with a partner who is so committed to our sport and the Classics which remain its pinnacle.
“As the largest shareholder in British Champions Series and by extension British Champions Day we look forward to continuing to support both initiatives as they embark on their next chapter.”
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