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Churchill preparing to pop the cork on its new winner’s circle

The champagne brand G.H. Mumm will have its name on the track’s new winner’s circle.
Rendering: POPULOUS
Churchill Downs will open its new G.H. Mumm Winner’s Circle on Saturday, a week before the running of the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs Inc. signed a multiyear deal with Pernod Ricard brand G.H. Mumm that makes it the official champagne of the Kentucky Derby and gives it naming rights for the new winner’s circle area.

Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Churchill Downs has spent millions in recent years on new construction at the racetrack, which opened in 1875, but the deal marks the first time it has sold naming rights to a prominent renovation. The $4.2 million winner’s circle project at the Louisville, Ky., track includes new 18-seat horse owners boxes.

The new winner’s circle will open on opening night of the spring meet. The Kentucky Derby will be run a week later, on May 2.

“We looked at a few different sponsorship opportunities, but none had the unrivaled reputation and authority that the Kentucky Derby has,” said Jeff Agdern, senior vice president and general manager of the Pernod Ricard USA wine and champagne portfolio. “It was the partnership we were looking for.”

Pernod Ricard, which counts Absolut Vodka and Chivas Regal Scotch whisky among its brands, is looking to reposition G.H. Mumm as a leader in the champagne category in the U.S., Agdern said. “This partnership will create the spotlight and awareness we need to create some disruption and get consumers to take notice of G.H. Mumm,” he said.

It is the first U.S. sports sponsorship for G.H. Mumm, but the brand is a sponsor of the Melbourne Cup, the most famous horse race in Australia, and of Formula One automobile racing.

G.H. Mumm will have national activations, including Derby parties and promotions at liquor stores and bars and on social media, but will not have advertising during NBC’s broadcast of the race this year.

It is not the first naming-rights deal for a portion of the track. The backside, where the race horses are stabled, has Dodge brand Ram as a naming-rights sponsor.

But Kristin Warfield, Churchill Downs vice president of partnerships, said the company considered only champagne brands for the naming rights to the new winner’s circle.

“One thing that we pride ourselves on is identifying sponsorship opportunities that are strong brand fits between our brand and our partner’s brand,” Warfield said.

“So there are very few product categories that we would have considered offering naming rights to such a prominent asset of the track. The nature of a champagne brand having naming rights to our winner’s circle we felt was an organic, inherent connection,” she said.

G.H. Mumm replaces Moet in the champagne category, which concluded after three years. Moet was not the official champagne of the Derby but rather a promotional partner. The G.H. Mumm deal is more significant, Warfield said, and includes the champagne being part of celebrations after major stakes races throughout the year.

G.H. Mumm is a corporate consulting client of Wasserman Media Group and the agency helped facilitate the deal by making the introduction to Churchill Downs, said Will Pleasants, Wasserman executive vice president of consulting. “G.H. Mumm saw a great opportunity to further establish themselves in the U.S. market by aligning with the fastest two minutes in sports, the Kentucky Derby,” he said.

Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby have multiple liquor sponsors. Woodford Reserve is the bourbon sponsor, Grey Goose is the vodka sponsor, Stella Artois is the beer sponsor and 14 Hands is the wine sponsor.

“I think that covers pretty much anything you would like to drink,” Warfield said.

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