by Renee Israel
After being the official sponsor of the Ayr Gold Cup Festival in Scotland for
the past three years, UK gambling giant William Hill has announced that it has
extended the deal with the premier horse racing event for another two years.
This means that the William Hill sponsorship of the Ayr Gold Cup
Festival will be in effect until at least September 2013.
The previous two-year Ayr Gold Cup Festival sponsorship deal which Will Hill
had expired on September 17th this year.
The Head of Racing for the William Hill, Kate Miller said about the deal:
"After three years of sponsorship, the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup sponsorship has
become a favourite among many of us and after such a fantastic weekend's action
at Ayr, it became apparent that an extension of our contract was necessary."
The Chairman for the Ayr Racecourse in Scotland, Alan MacDonald said: "We are
delighted with the news that William Hill has extended its Ayr Gold Cup Festival
sponsorship by a further two years."
He noted that everyone at the course had enjoyed working with William Hill on
the last three Gold Cup Festivals and now looked forward to another two years.
Ayr Gold Cup and William Hill a Perfect Fit
"William Hill and the Ayr Gold Cup Festival are a perfect fit and I feel its
name is now synonymous with the most famous flat race in the Scottish racing
calendar," he said.
William Hill has a very strong presence in the Scottish betting market and
operates over 300 betting shops in the country. These make up the over 2,350 in
the UK and Ireland combined.
On September 17th, Our Jonathan, on an 11-1, shot gave his
owner, Marwan Koukash, his second successive Ayr Gold Cup victory, when the
horse beat the 6-1 favourite Eton Rifles.
The horse, who was ridden by Franny Norton and trained by Kevin
Ryan, was named after the owner's brother in law who died at the age of 15 while
playing football. Our Jonathan was a successful two year old several years ago,
and returned this year to remain on top form and win the Ayr Gold Cup. The
owner's second race horse, Redford, won last year's race.
More than 10,000 people turned out to enjoy the race and,
despite the poor weather forecast, conditions remained remarkably good.
This popular event draws punters to betting shops and online
betting sites such as William Hill, ensuring exciting racing entertainment and
the chance to be well rewarded by backing the right horse.
