Jump Racing & Sponsorship
Who Sponsors Jump Racing
Sponsorship Spend

Jump Racing & Sponsorship

On a global basis there is one sport in which Britain remains predominant; a sport whose export was limited to mainland Europe and to Ireland; a sport whose best known events have acquired iconic status the world over and which now holds a position in UK sport as the second most lucrative sport behind football, in terms of spectator footfall and revenues.

That sport is racing.

Ask the man in the street to name one race or one venue that personifies racing in this country, and he’s likely to answer the Grand National, or Cheltenham. This one event, and in Cheltenham’s instance, a single extraordinary venue, encapsulate the intense competition, unbridled enthusiasm and adoration from the sport’s enthusiastic following for the phenomenon that is Jump Racing. In addition to the core enthusiasts, Jump Racing also enjoys a large casual following, attracted by one or more of the major “event” races during the course of the season.

Whilst there are more Flat races each year, more high stakes money involved, more fortunes won (and lost) and a more international flavour to the Flat calendar, it is the winter sport of Jump Racing that enthrals the viewer, engages the reader and thrills the spectator on the track more than any other equestrian sport, and indeed on a more consistent basis than almost any other sport in the UK.

The Simple Facts

Whilst there are more Flat races each year, more high stakes money involved, more fortunes won (and lost) and a more international flavo Racing takes place almost every day in the UK, excepting Good Friday and threee days up to and including Christmas Day. Over 500 fixtures are scheduled each year for Jump Racing in a season that starts in late April, and concludes 12 months later.

Whilst the summer months are characterised by low-key meetings which, whilst popular with spectators, are not patronized by the top elite of steeplechasers and hurdlers, the season really gets into gear in October, and rises to a crescendo in spring at the Cheltenham Festival and Aintree’s Grand National Meeting.

Over a 12 month timeframe some 2 million spectators will visit the 41 racecourses with Jumps fixtures and an additional ¾ million will attend their local Point-to-Point – the amateur branch of the sport that is the nursery for budding champion riders. Testament to the success of Point-to-Point in this regard are the careers of Peter Scudamore, Richard Dunwoody, Richard Johnson and many others who have trod a well-worn path of learning their trade at such meetings.

From October onward, all eyes are on the two key destinations in the sport – Cheltenham and the Grand National. Horses will be described as “a Cheltenham horse” or “a National type”. These are the brands that personify the sport, and become every owner’s aspiration.

Over 18,000 people are directly involved in the training of some 6,000 Thoroughbreds for Jump Racing under the Rules of Racing, and several thousand more for Point-to-Point racing. Behind this front line is a mass of ancillary employment, from breeders to feed merchants, farriers to vets, administrators to drivers, car park attendants and so on. And when betting shop staff are included, the employment statistics balloon to nearly 100,000, many of whom are in small rural communities; small wonder then that government recognizes the worth of racing as a driver to rural growth and diversification.

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Media coverage

Racing achieves a very high media exposure due to demand from consumers who enjoy following the sport for its sheer spectacle or for the opportunity to place a bet on the outcome of a race. Indeed, racing is a well-established betting “product” that has been the mainstay offering for gaming companies all over the UK and Ireland. As a result, it makes for a fertile advertising market among newspapers, broadcasters and online media.

It is no coincidence that Saturday editions of the tabloids carry a racing pullout. However, whereas Monday match reports in the papers for football are virtually advertising free, Saturday pullouts are full of the latest odds from leading bookmakers. The betting market is driving advertising revenue and higher circulation for racing in the newspaper market, just as partnership marketing activity drives circulation online.

All these attributes make racing, and Jump Racing in particular, an attractive medium for sponsorship. And there is a lot of sponsorship in racing, thanks to the fact that the sport is not personified by half a dozen major sponsors, whose weight and buying power has expunged any opposition.

Rather, Jump Racing allows a multitude of sponsors to back the sport at various different levels, from purely local support, to lending their name to major events like the John Smith’s Grand National, the Ryanair Steeplechase, or Pertemps Hurdle Series.

So who is sponsoring Jump Racing, why do they buy into the sport, what benefits do they accrue and what are future trends in sponsorship?

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Who Sponsors Jump Racing?

While the sport does attract sponsorship from leading bookmakers, Jump Racing also appeals to a wide breadth of sponsors from a variety of sectors.

Moreover, there is a huge range of types and sizes of sponsoring organisations, from small local businesses to multinational corporations.

Sample of sponsors who agreed to participate in the research for this report:

For example, the annual Cheltenham Festival features an eclectic mix of race and facility sponsors that includes companies from the service sector, bookmakers, property developers, drinks producers and newspapers.

Similarly, the sample of sponsors who agreed to participate in the research for this report reflects this diversity, representing market sectors. (See above list.)

Sponsorship may be used to support the corporate brand or that of a specific product or service, or both. All three types of sponsorship are undertaken within Jump Racing, as evidenced by the sample of current sponsors who contributed to this report. Fifty-eight (58) per cent of respondents used Jump Racing to help promote a corporate brand, while twenty-four (24) per cent were specifically promoting a product or service and the remaining eighteen (18) per cent supporting both corporate and product or service brands.

The majority of sponsors involved with Jump Racing are mature businesses. The sample for this report would suggest that nearly half (48%) of Jump Racing sponsors have been in operation for more than fifty years, with fourteen percent having been in operation for between thirty and fifty years. A further twenty-six (26) per cent have been operational for between a decade and thirty years. Only four (4) percent are start-ups that have been founded in the preceding five years and eight (8) percent are between five and ten years old.

Size of sponsor businesses

In terms of size, just over half (52%) of the surveyed organisations employ more than five hundred people. A similar proportion (50%) has an annual estimated turnover in excess of £100 million, reflecting many of the big brands that are involved with Jump Racing.

However, nearly a fifth (18%) employ less than fifty people, reflecting the fact that sponsorship packages are available at a wide range of price points. A relatively low point of entry makes Jump Racing sponsorship accessible to small and medium sized local brands, not just the national and international brand names that are recognised sponsors of the biggest races.

How active are sponsors?

Most organisations involved in sponsoring Jump Racing (84%) have a wider sponsorship strategy that may incorporate other sports, conferences and exhibitions, to cultural events and exhibitions. The highest correlation was found to be with football, with more than half of Jump Racing sponsors also sponsoring football in some way. In comparison, a fifth (21%) of jump racing sponsors are also involved in sponsorship of the arts, music and cultural events. (See Figure 1.)

Given that most sponsoring organisations are committed to sponsoring at least one other activity, it may be reasonable to assume that they see sponsorship as a core part of their marketing strategy. It may also be safe to assume that these organisations will be more sophisticated in their approach to monitoring, measuring and evaluating their involvement and return on investment in sponsorship.

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Which companies are missing out?

When current sponsors are surveyed about the types of brands they expect to be involved in Jump Racing, many of the sectors mentioned mirror those already involved in the sport, with a particularly high correlation for betting/gaming and drinks and beverages companies. However several sectors, such as Mobile Phones and Cars/Automotive, are not presently involved in sponsoring Jump Racing when clearly other marketers expect they would be. (See Figure 2.)

Several of these sectors, such as Mobile Phones and Cars/Automotive, are not presently involved in sponsoring Jump Racing.

Arguably, there is an opportunity for marketers in these sectors to reach out to the Jump Racing audience. For example, there is sufficient footfall – and dwell – at many races for a car manufacturer to gain potential benefit from offering racecourse visitors a chance to sit in or perhaps even test drive a particular model of car. However we must also recognise that it is up to the racecourses, trainers and owners to make Jump Racing a more attractive proposition for those types of businesses.

Sponsorship Spend

A wide variety of organisations, in terms of business activity, size and turnover, are involved in Jump Racing thanks to one of the key attractions of the sport – its versatility. From major sponsorships of “crown jewel” events such as the Grand National, to the sponsorship of an individual race at a smaller regional racecourse to help reach a local audience, there is something to suit all budgets.

Correspondingly, the sponsoring brands invest a wide range of amounts in Jump Racing. Nearly half (46%) invest £100,000 or more per annum, with just over a fifth (22%) investing over £250,000, while a tenth invest under £20,000. For an organisation wishing to become involved in sports sponsorship, those amounts are much more attainable than the multi-million pound sponsorship deals in football or Formula One. (See Figure 3.)

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What do Sponsors Buy?

Sponsors acquire different rights based upon the package they buy and the type of sponsorship they adopt. Racing fans are used to hearing brand names attached to specific races and indeed most of the sponsors who participated in our research were involved with race sponsorship, but a much wider range of sponsorship opportunities are available. For example, nearly a quarter sponsor a racecourse. (See Figure 4.)

A sponsor’s package may include sponsorship of races, race courses, enclosures, jockeys, horses, stables, facilities, materials such as race cards, trade stands and so on. Based upon the research for this report, we can assume that most sponsors benefit from multiple branding opportunities as an integral part of their package. For most, that package consisted primarily of signage and corporate hospitality, with around half also receiving branding opportunities on materials related to the event such as programmes. (See Figure 5.)

How easy is it to become a sponsor?

Some marketers are aware of the long-term nature of sponsorship relationships, particularly in Jump Racing where three year deals are not uncommon. It is also true that there can be long waiting lists to become involved in some of the major race meetings. Combined, these facts can give the impression that sponsoring Jump Racing is something of a closed shop, but that is not the case. The sponsors who participated in the research for this report were asked whether they feel that there are sufficient sponsorship opportunities within the sport to suit all levels of financial commitment and all types of brands. Seventy (70) per cent agreed that there are enough opportunities to become involved in sponsoring Jump Racing, but only 68% agreed that there are enough opportunities to sponsor the most prestigious racecourses, events, jockeys, stables or horses. Given that these responses come from those already involved in Jump Racing, it is possible that a sample consisting of organisations not currently involved in Jump Racing might provide a more negative response. This reinforces the opinion of those involved in Jump Racing that they still need to create more opportunities for sponsorship in order to meet demand.

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