Coral announce exciting new partnership with The Curragh

Coral today announced a major new partnership with The Curragh Racecourse that will kick off this Sunday with sponsorship of the Coral.ie Alleged Stakes.

The exciting new partnership, which further extends Coral’s involvement and investment in Irish horse racing, consists of high quality race sponsorship at The Curragh, including this Sunday’s Coral.ie Alleged Stakes and three supporting races, as well as the Group 2 Coral Curragh Cup on 26th June, and a variety of promotional and marketing initiatives with Ireland’s premier Flat racecourse.

This Sunday’s race meeting at The Curragh, is entitled the Coral.ie Race day consisting of a packed seven race programme including the listed Coral.ie Alleged Stakes and three other races supported by the leading bookmaker.

Coral will then add their name to the Group 2 Curragh Cup which takes place on Day 3 of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival on Sunday 26th June. The 14 furlong contest is established as one of the top staying races in Ireland having recently been promoted to Group 2 status by the European Pattern Race Committee and has been won in the past by such well known performers as Vintage Crop, Septimus, Kastoria and Red Cadeaux, while Bondi Beach landed the race in 2015.

Simon Clare, Coral PR Director, said today: “It gives me great pleasure to announce a major new partnership between Coral and The Curragh including the sponsorship of two top class Group races in the Coral.ie Alleged Stakes and The Coral Curragh Cup. Coral has a proud and unrivalled long-standing record of sponsoring top quality horse races at some of the biggest racecourses in Britain, and we are thrilled to be adding a racecourse of the stature of The Curragh to that portfolio.”

“Coral recently embarked on a mission to introduce the Coral brand and the benefits of our betting products and services to Irish punters and racing fans, and this new partnership with The Curragh will form a pivotal part of this new strategy,” added Clare.

Evan Arkwright, Commercial Manager of the Curragh Racecourse, commented: “Coral have been on our target list for many years and we are delighted that they have agreed to join our portfolio of sponsors for the first time. We look forward to working closely with their team to promote the Coral brand in Ireland and provide incentives and rewards to attract their customers to the Curragh.”

Coral obtained an Irish betting licence last year and celebrated their entry into the Irish betting market by establishing the company’s first race sponsorship in Ireland at Leopardstown in January, featuring the Coral.ie Hurdle (won by Henry Higgins) and the Coral.ie Leopardstown Chase (won by Empire of Dirt).

Coral recently announced a new partnership with Punchestown Racecourse that will include sponsorship of The Coral handicap hurdle on the final day of the 2016 Punchestown Festival on Saturday, 30th April, and sponsorship of six races at Punchestown’s first race meeting of the 2016/17 Jump Season on 12th October.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:
Coral is a part of Gala Coral Group operating 1,850 betting shops, as well as the fastest growing online, mobile and telephone betting services, in the United Kingdom. Coral also operates two of the leading Greyhound Racing stadia in the UK, at Romford and Hove.

Coral is one of the longest standing horse race sponsors in the UK including the Coral Welsh Grand National since 1973, the Coral Cup (and the Coral Golden Hurdle prior to that) at the Cheltenham Festival since 1974, the Coral-Eclipse since 1976. Coral also sponsors the Coral Scottish Grand National, the Coral Hurdle at Ascot and the Coral Sprint Trophy at York. Coral is also one of the founding sponsors of the All Weather Series Championship culminating in the Coral Easter Classic on Good Friday.

Coral sponsored the Coral.ie Hurdle and the Coral.ie Leopardstown Chase at Leopardstown on January 17th 2016, the first time the bookmaker had sponsored in Ireland.

Coral recently announced a new partnership with Punchestown Racecourse including sponsorship of the Coral Handicap Hurdle on Saturday 30th April, and six races on Punchestown’s first meeting of the 2016/17 jump season on 12th October.

For further information:
Simon Clare, Coral PR Director +44 7860 465139 simon.clare@coral.co.uk
Evan Arkwright, Commercial Manager at the Curragh Racecourse 00353 87 2240890