Tattersalls, Europe's largest Bloodstock Auctioneers, today announces
that it has agreed a sponsorship deal with Betfair, the world's leading
betting exchange, for the Tattersalls Millions race series.
The sponsorship will form two parts. Betfair will sponsor the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and Timeform, Betfair's wholly owned subsidiary, will sponsor the three new races worth £2.2 million to be staged at Newmarket Racecourses in 2008 / 2009.
Both Tattersalls and Betfair have a large and varied client base of which there is a certain amount of overlap, however there is a significant opportunity to tap into each other's markets presenting a number of new client opportunities for both parties.
Tattersalls Chairman, Edmond Mahony commented:
"We are delighted to be partnering with two such high quality brands as Betfair and Timeform. Betfair is a dynamic and fast-growing business, whilst Timeform has a heritage of market leadership and excellence. They are both an ideal fit for Tattersalls. We believe that this is one of the most innovative sale-race series ever and the partnership with Betfair and Timeform endorses the excitement and quality around it."
Stephen Burn, Director of Racing at Betfair, added:
"This is the first time a deal of this nature has been signed and we look forward to working closely with Tattersalls in an association that takes the traditional bookmaker race-sponsorship strategy to a new level. This unique partnership allows us to elevate the relationship beyond simply the naming of races, and we believe that our association with one of British racing's most respected brands will have international appeal to a select clientele.
Lisa Hancock, Managing Director of Newmarket Racecourses, said:
"We are looking forward enormously to hosting the three races comprising the £2,200,000 Tattersalls Millions and the addition of the 'Timeform' brand to the races brings a new dimension which we warmly welcome. Like Tattersalls, Timeform is a company respected throughout the world and the Tattersalls Timeform Millions are an exciting prospect for all concerned."
The three brand new races - The Tattersalls Timeform Millions - will be the most valuable sales-race series in the world. They are to be staged at Newmarket starting in 2008 / 2009, carrying a combined minimum total prize fund of £2.2 million. Entry will be restricted to graduates of the 2007 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale (Book One) which will have approximately 750 yearlings catalogued.
Top billing goes to a £1 million race for two-year-old colts, geldings and fillies over seven furlongs, closely followed by an £800,000 race for two-year-old fillies only, also over seven furlongs. Both will be run for the first time at the Cambridgeshire Meeting in October of next year, each with a maximum field of 30 horses. The £1 million race will be named the 'Tattersalls Timeform Million' and the fillies' race the 'Tattersalls Timeform Fillies' 800'.
The third race will be the first sales-race ever run in Britain for three-year-olds. Worth £400,000 and run over 10 furlongs, the 'Tattersalls Timeform £400,000 3YO Trophy' will be staged for the first time at Newmarket in 2009 and will be the richest three-year-old race in Britain outside the Classics. Any horse left in the two-year-old races after the first forfeit will be automatically eligible to run in the three-year-old race the following year at no additional cost.
Tattersalls
Jimmy George, Marketing Director, Tattersalls 07785 350413
Betfair
Georgina Hard, Press Officer, Betfair 0780 3597986
Tattersalls was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall and is the world's oldest bloodstock auctioneer. Today Tattersalls is an international firm offering around 12,000 horses each year from it's base in Newmarket in England and from it's sister company Tattersalls Ireland at Fairyhouse in Ireland. Tattersalls is Europe's largest bloodstock auctioneer with a record turnover in 2006 of £245 million. Amongst the highlights at Tattersalls in 2006 was the world record price for a broodmare when MAGICAL ROMANCE sold for £4.83 million at the Tattersalls December Sale.
Tattersalls sales in Newmarket include market leaders in every category. The Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 features the cream of the European yearling crop and is unrivalled as a source of Classic winners with the last three Derby winners, AUTHORIZED (400,000 gns), SIR PERCY (16,000 gns) and MOTIVATOR (75,000 gns) all graduates of the sale. Books 2 and 3 of the October Yearling Sale follow in the week after Book 1 and collectively the October Yearling Sale is the largest yearling sale in Europe providing more top class winners than any other European yearling sale.
Graduates of Book 1 of the 2007 October Yearling Sale will be eligible for the World's richest sales race series - the £2,200,000 Tattersalls Millions - made up of the 'Tattersalls Million', the 'Tattersalls Fillies' 800', and the 'Tattersalls £400,000 3YO Trophy'. Graduates of Books 2, 3 and 4 are eligible for the £300,000 Tattersalls October Auction Stakes.
Following the October Yearling Sale is the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale - the largest horses in training sale in the world - whilst the December Sale, consisting of 1 day of yearlings, 5 days of foals and 4 days of breeding stock is widely considered to be the most international sale in the world. In 2006 turnover for the Tattersalls December Sale topped £100 million, the only time any sale in Europe has done so.
Tattersalls portfolio of sales is completed by Europe's premier two-year-olds in training sale, the Craven Breeze Up Sale, the new Guineas Breeze Up Sale and two mixed sales, the July Sale, Europe's premier midsummer sale, and the February Sale.
European record price for a yearling: Colt by Sadler's Wells ex Darara
- 3,400,000 gns at the 2000 Tattersalls Houghton Yearling Sale
World record price for a broodmare: MAGICAL ROMANCE - 4,600,000 gns
at the 2006 Tattersalls December Mare Sale.
European record price for a horse in training: SPINNING QUEEN - 3,000,000
gns at the 2006 Tattersalls December Mare Sale.
European record price for a foal: Colt by Caerleon ex Doff The Derby
- 2,500,000 gns at the 1997 Tattersalls December Foal Sale.
European record price for a two-year-old in training: Colt by Green
Desert ex Alexander Three D - 625,000 gns at the 2006 Tattersalls Craven
Breeze Up Sale
Betfair.com pioneered the concept of the betting exchange, where punters
can bet between each other at odds they set themselves. Since launching
this revolutionary concept in June 2000, Betfair has grown to become
one of the largest online gaming companies in the world, with over 1
million registered users. Betfair offers online sports betting, casino,
poker and exchange-based games. The company is privately owned, and
was last valued by a private sale of 23% of the company in February
2006 at £1.5bn. The company now employs over 1200 staff worldwide,
principally in the UK, Malta and Australia, with its main offices in
London, Mosta and Hobart. The company's co-founders - former professional
gambler Andrew Black and former JPMorgan vice-president Edward Wray
- were jointly voted Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the
Year 2002. In April 2003 Betfair won a Queen's Award for Enterprise
in the Innovation category, and in 2004 and 2005 was named 'Company
of the Year' at the CBI Growing Business Awards - the first company
ever to win it twice. Betfair acquired Portway Press Limited, which
trades as Timeform, in November 2006.