BoyleSports renews Irish Grand National sponsorship and announces partnership with HRI racecourses
The prestigious handicap chase, known as the BoyleSports Irish Grand National, will take place on April 1 this year. It remains the richest race in the Irish jumps calendar, offering a prize pot of €500,000. BoyleSports has been the sponsor of the race since 2014 and this new agreement extends their sponsorship for another 13 years. Vlad Kaltenieks, the chief executive of BoyleSports, expressed his delight in continuing the sponsorship and expects the race to deliver more dramatic and thrilling finishes in the future.
In addition to sponsoring the Irish Grand National, BoyleSports will also become the official betting partner to the Summer Series at Leopardstown. The Summer Series includes nine meetings that run from May to August. Furthermore, BoyleSports will sponsor two races over Easter weekend as the principal partner to the Fairyhouse Easter festival. They have also committed to sponsoring the Grade 3 Joe Mac Novice Hurdle at Tipperary and the Grade 2 Webster Cup Chase at Navan.
Pontefract Racecourse in West Yorkshire will be hosting autism-friendly racedays at all 16 of its fixtures in 2024. This initiative was started last year in partnership with Autism In Racing and will be funded in part by a partnership with ticketing provider, Future Ticketing. Bobby Beevers, the founder of Autism In Racing, commended Pontefract for their commitment to being autism-friendly and looks forward to working with the track in the upcoming season.
Pontefract has also announced the new sponsor for the McCann FitzGerald Spring Juvenile Hurdle, a race with a prize of €150,000. This race has a distinguished history and has produced the winner of the Triumph Hurdle in each of the last three years. The current favorite for the race is Storm Heart, a horse trained by Willie Mullins and who won impressively at Punchestown. The race will now be known as the McCann FitzGerald Spring Juvenile Hurdle, and the partnership with the new sponsor is expected to enhance the prestige and excitement of the event.
Stephen Holst, managing partner at McCann FitzGerald LLP, expressed his excitement about sponsoring the race and praised the Irish horseracing industry for its contribution to the economy and society. The article then concludes by mentioning Chris Cook, a renowned racing writer, who provides daily stories and tips for racing enthusiasts.