The Breeders' Cup and Emirates Airline announced a renewal of their sponsorship agreement at the Premier Partner level through which Emirates, the award-winning global airline will continue as the official commercial airline of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. As a Premier Partner, Emirates will again be title sponsor of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf and the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf. Emirates has been a Breeders' Cup sponsor since 2005.
The 26th Breeders' Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing's most prestigious global event, consisting of 14 races and $25.5 million in purses, will be held on Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. The event will be televised live on ABC and ESPN and to a worldwide audience in more than 120 countries.
As a part of the new agreement, Emirates will expand its presence in North America with additional partnerships at six local race tracks, becoming an official sponsor of Belmont Park in New York; Woodbine Race Course in Toronto; Lone Star Park near Dallas; Sam Houston Race Park in Houston; Del Mar Race Track near San Diego and Emerald Downs in Seattle. Emirates will sponsor a race at each of these tracks and will have print advertising, on-track signage and hospitality at selected sites during the summer and fall. The individual racetrack sponsorships will support Emirates direct flights from Dubai to New York, Toronto, Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
In addition to its continued presence on Breeders' Cup Challenge telecasts in the fall, Emirates has also been named title sponsor of ESPN's Emirates Airline Summer Racing Series presented by NTRA. The Emirates Airline Summer Racing Series consists of three nationally televised racing programs from Del Mar, Arlington Park and Saratoga Race Course.
"Emirates is pleased to announce today our continued commitment to the sport of horse racing in America and around the world. Both the Breeders' Cup Turf and the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf are two of the world's most prestigious races and we are very excited to be associated with them," said Nigel Page, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Americas and Africa. "North America is a hugely important market to Emirates, we are currently operating non-stop flights to Dubai from New York, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Toronto. Our daily Los Angeles service will offer racing fans from the Middle East and Asia an easy route to Santa Anita Park to be part of the Breeders' Cup experience," added Page.
"Emirates continues to be an outstanding partner of the Breeders' Cup and a great supporter of Thoroughbred racing in North America," said Breeders' Cup President and CEO, Greg Avioli. "The Emirates expansion of its sponsorship is a testament to its commitment to our sport."
The Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, to be run on Championship Friday, is conducted at 1 1/4 miles on the turf for fillies and mares, 3-years-old and up. Over the years, it has produced great champions, including the outstanding English filly Ouija Board, winner of the event in 2004 and again in 2006. Last year's race was won by Augustin Stable's 4-year-old filly Forever Together, representing the U.S.
The Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Turf, to be run on Championship Saturday at 1 1/2 miles, has established a tradition as one of the world's top grass races. The Turf has been won by horses representing England, Ireland, France, Germany, Canada and the United States. Thirteen winners of the Breeders' Cup Turf were later named North American champions.
The 2008 Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita produced a 1,2 finish for international horses as the 3-year-old Conduit of Great Britain defeated Eagle Mountain of the United Arab Emirates by 1 1/2 lengths. The Turf produced the first-ever dead heat in Breeders' Cup history in 2003 when Ireland's High Chaparral and the American Johar hit the wire together.
The Breeders' Cup renewal is the latest in Emirates' continued sponsorship support of Thoroughbred events around the world. In addition to its Breeders' Cup commitment, Emirates also sponsors the $6 million Dubai World Cup (the world's richest horserace), Australia's Emirates Melbourne Cup, and races in Britain and Singapore.
(Source: sportsbusinessnews.com)
