Qipco Extends Sponsorship Of British Champions Series

British horse racing "received a huge boost" when Qipco Holding extended their sponsorship through '17, according to Geoffrey Riddle of THE NATIONAL. The Qatari firm added another five years to their sponsorship of the British Champions Series, in addition to "the hope that prize-money to British Champions Day, held annually in October, can be increased" to £4M ($6.2M). Qipco Holding CEO Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani said, "We believe that Britain hosts the world's best horseracing. We respect and appreciate the heritage of the sport and we would like it to maintain its status as the most important and deep-rooted in the world." British Champions Day, held at Ascot Racecourse, is currently worth £3M ($4.7M), Britain's "most-valuable raceday" (THE NATIONAL,7/24). In London, Greg Wood noted that Champions Day "is the culmination of the Qipco British Champions Series," which includes 35 races at 10 courses arranged into five categories: Sprint, Mile, Middle-Distance, Long-Distance and Fillies & Mares. There will also be "further focus on the position of Champions Day in the calendar," sandwiched between the alternative attractions of Arc Day and the Breeders' Cup in the U.S. in early November, and at a time of the year when there is a "significant risk of soft or heavy ground" (GUARDIAN, 7/23).

PROFITABLE VISION: The KOREA JOONGANG DAILY reported that the Korea Racing Authority unveiled its "Vision 2022" for Korea's horse industry. The Korea Racing Authority "promises" to improve the profit from horse races to 1.3T won ($1.1B) (KOREA JOONGANG DAILY, 7/25).