Emirates has pulled out of Australian horse racing.getty images
Emirates terminated its final horse race partnership in Australia, six months after sponsoring its last Melbourne Cup, according to Nick Tabakoff of THE AUSTRALIAN. The airline will withdraw from sponsoring Australian racing for at least two years, but will "hang on" to multi-million dollar Australian Football League and tennis contracts. Emirates in recent weeks formally ended its relationship with the A$2M ($1.5M) Emirates Stakes at Flemington, which is held on the last day of Victoria’s Spring Racing Carnival, "after talks with the Victorian Racing Club broke down." Emirates Communications, Marketing & Brand SVP Boutros Boutros confirmed on Thursday that the company "ended its decades-long association" with Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival. He said that the termination "followed a disagreement with the VRC about the location of its Birdcage marquee," after Lexus replaced Emirates as the naming rights sponsor for the A$6.2M ($4.7M) Melbourne Cup. Boutros: "I wanted the same marquee location, and they said, 'We can't give it to you because we committed to Lexus for this location.' I would have hung on to the Emirates Stakes if we had the same marquee position." The VRC is expected to make an announcement about a replacement for Emirates in coming weeks. Emirates had been negotiating with the VRC to remain with the Emirates Stakes. However, Boutros said, "We ceased negotiations because they couldn't meet us in the middle" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 5/18).
