Fifteen new backers have been signed up by York Racecourse for the 2007 season, the venue’s head of marketing and sponsorship announced today.

 

Addressing the course’s pre-season press lunch, James Brennan said the new sponsors, contributing towards the record prize money of over £4.5m at the track this year, included Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, who would back the Ireland Gimcrack Stakes at August’s Ebor Festival, and two spread betting brands, Sporting Index and IG Index.

 

He added: “It shows the broad appeal of sponsorship at York that amongst our other new backers are leading London- based construction firm Reland, entrepreneurial York company Quartz Travel, family-run Bolton-based Mayfield Pet Products, and Axis Intermodal, a pan-European market leader in transport logistics, whose headquarters are in Cologne, Germany.”

 

Mr Brennan confirmed hospitality boxes were sold out for the May and Ebor festivals. The former runs from Wednesday 16 to Friday 18 May and the latter between Tuesday 21 and Thursday 23 August. He added capacity had been reached in the course’s restaurants on four of these six days.

 

He acknowledged that on-the-day sales still provided the lion’s share of the final attendance but said general bookings were also up on this time last year for both festivals, with all six days showing growth.

Commenting on the May Festival performance he observed: “As the last day is now the best selling of the three, it seems racegoers are pleased with the switch, originally made in 2005, to a Wednesday to Friday Festival, after it had previously run from Tuesday to Thursday.”                 

To accommodate this demand, he said the course had launched the Roberto Pavilion, a double decker structure offering fine dining and views of the home straight, as well as the White Rose Pavilions, which will make their debut at the Ebor Festival.

 

Summarising these developments, Mr Brennan said: “We’re grateful for the support of sponsors and the business racegoer, and are proud of these new facilities, that we hope will find favour.”

 

Turning to the catering facilities, he also announced the opening of new seafood bistro, the Princess Mary Bar, and the addition of a chocolate fountain to the treats on offer.

 

He said: “We’re proud of our existing range of food. However, we want to keep refreshing things and the luxury of seafood plus the indulgence of the chocolate fountain seem right for a raceday.”

 

Mr Brennan added the many racegoers who enjoyed the range of what he termed “remarkably priced” brand- name champagne at York, including bottles of Mercier costing just £23 at the Ebor Festival, would have extra space to soak up the atmosphere, as the ever-popular champagne lawn was being expanded.

He added the Marriott group would support the Best Dressed Lady Racegoer prize on August 23, offering a short break for two in their Dubai Renaissance hotel to the winner. The lucky recipient would also qualify for a champion of champions final, featuring winners from the eight other Yorkshire courses, the top prize being the use of an Audi car for a year, courtesy of dealership Gilder Group, four of whose five showrooms are in the county.

 

Mr Brennan said the line up for the successful Music Showcase days was confirmed, with world famous Abba tribute band Bjorn Again playing after racing on Thursday July 26 and Killer Queen back by popular demand after the card two days later, following their wowing of a 25,000-strong crowd last year.

 

Commenting on the recent installation of solar panels to heat water in the Knavesmire Stand, Mr Brennan said; “The project is just one example of our commitment to addressing the challenges modern life places on the environment. It also makes economic sense, as we have not switched on the conventional water boilers since the panels were fitted.”

 

Demonstrating this was part of a wider strategy, Mr Brennan revealed the track had recycled 10 tonnes of glass over the winter and would be continuing this scheme through the racing season.