BetVictor has been announced as "the new sponsor of the feature event at Cheltenham's Open meeting in November," according to SKY SPORTS. The fixture has been backed by Paddy Power since '03 and "is one of the highlights of the National Hunt season." As Paddy Power has yet to sign up to the British Horseracing Authority's Authorized Betting Partner scheme, Cheltenham and the Jockey Club "were looking for a new backer for the extended two-and-a-half-mile heat." BetVictor, which has recently become an ABP, "signed a three-year deal to sponsor the BetVictor Gold Cup." Part of the new deal also sees BetVictor "providing on-course betting shop facilities at the Festival next week" (SKY SPORTS, 3/9). RACING POST's Tony McFadden reported under the terms of the ABP initiative, "firms must pay an agreed contribution to racing based on the proceeds from their digital business." BetVictor became an authorized betting partner on Feb. 19 (RACING POST, 3/9). In London, Mark Souster reported negotiations between Paddy Power and the Jockey Club, which owns Cheltenham, "have been continuing for months but Cheltenham finally lost patience with what it saw as Paddy Power’s intransigence." A source said, "We couldn’t hold on forever" (LONDON TIMES, 3/9).
