Flutter-owned Sportsbet has announced a five-year partnership with Melbourne Racing Club (MRC), set to start on January 1, 2024, which includes the sports betting brand becoming the naming rights partner for the Caulfield Cup Carnival and the Caulfield Cup.
The MRC is a not-for-profit members club with over 12,000 members and conducts more than 80 race meetings annually across three racetracks in Victoria – Caulfield, Mornington, and Sandown. The new agreement encompasses all three racetracks.
“With exceptional brand synergies and a strong alignment in core values between the two, the partnership aims to re-position the sport to new racing fans and open up racing to more sporting audiences,” the company said. This will come to life across digital, marketing, customer engagement, on-course activations, and experiences throughout the year, with particular emphasis on key Carnival periods throughout the racing season.
Sportsbet said that one major initiative it has committed to is making an $AU 125,000 ($83,917) cash contribution to the MRC Foundation each year. This foundation is the charitable arm of the MRC, housing the club’s charitable and community work under a centralized brand. The MRC Foundation ultimately aims to support local communities and help racing industry participants.
Sportsbet’s efforts to give back to the racing community and ensure its longevity form part of Flutter Group’s goal to ‘Do More’ for its communities, a press release notes. Do More features the target to improve 10 million lives by 2030 and is a core component of Flutter’s global sustainability strategy, the ‘Positive Impact Plan’, to which all of its worldwide portfolio of brands contribute.
The partnership will also feature:
- Sportsbet offering a $AU 1 million ($672,500) prize for any horse that takes out the Sportsbet Mornington Cup and Sportsbet Caulfield Cup double in the same calendar year
- Sportsbet investing a separate $AU 125,000 into racing growth initiatives at Mornington Racetrack
- World-first LED technology for barriers to be rolled out in early 2024
- Investment in the growth of MRC membership
- Enhancement of on-course experience for GA customers
Barni Evans, Sportsbet CEO, said: “Sportsbet is excited to partner with the MRC, an incredibly successful and progressive Club, and we look forward to bringing to life our shared ambition of attracting new audiences to racing.
“We’re always looking to do more for the community and we’re particularly proud to be contributing $AU 125,000 each year of the partnership to the MRC Foundation, supporting local communities and helping racing industry participants.”
Josh Blanksby, Melbourne Racing Club CEO, said: “This is the most significant partnership in the Club’s history, and we’re thrilled to be working with Sportsbet, Australia’s largest wagering provider, to open up the sport to more audiences and futureproof racing on the sporting stage.
“We’re excited by the opportunities that partnering with such an iconic brand in the sport and racing spaces presents, and we look forward to introducing a greater sporting audience to our racing product through Sportsbet’s impressive market share”.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/noticias/2023/12/18/70104-sportsbet-earns-caulfield-cup-naming-rights-in-fiveyear-partnership-with-melbourne-racing-club
