Key facts
- Betfred said it would not proceed with a three-year renewal of its sponsorship of the British Classics.
- Betfred said the cumulative cost of government policy left it with no choice but to end the deal.
- Betfred said more than 1,000 jobs were at risk in its shops alone.
- The Classics are the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Derby and Oaks at Epsom and the St Leger at Doncaster.
- Betfred took over the Derby, Oaks and St Leger in 2023 and added the Newmarket Classics from 2025.
- Jockey Club London hub managing director Amy Starkey said talks were under way with prospective partners.
Betfred said on November 5 that it would not proceed with a three-year renewal of its sponsorship of all five British horse racing Classics, citing the increase in machine games duty announced in the UK Budget. The Classics are the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Derby and Oaks at Epsom and the St Leger at Doncaster.
Chancellor John Healey raised machine games duty to 25% from 20%, short of the 40% some had feared, according to AFP. Betfred chairman and co-founder Fred Done had said before the Budget that the company would end its backing of the races if Healey raised the duty.
A Betfred spokesman said: "Following successive tax rises for the betting industry, and in particular the increase to machine games duty at the most recent budget, it is with great sadness that we have taken the difficult decision not to proceed with a three-year renewal of our sponsorship of the British Classics." The spokesman added that the cumulative cost of government policy had left the company with no choice.
Betfred said more than 1,000 jobs were at risk in its shops alone. It took over sponsorship of the Derby, Oaks and St Leger in 2023 and added the Newmarket Classics in a deal from 2025 onwards.
Amy Starkey, managing director of the Jockey Club's London hub, said the Jockey Club was disappointed but understood Betfred's reasons, and that it was in conversations with a number of interested prospective partners for the Derby and the Guineas Festival. British Horseracing Authority chief executive Brant Dunshea had warned before the Budget that a rise in duty would have a "devastating impact", AFP reported.