BetMGM will put its name on a second race at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, filling a sponsorship slot that had been held by Coral.
BetMGM will put its name on a second race at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, filling a sponsorship slot that had been held by Coral for more than 30 years.
The Jockey Club said the Premier Handicap Hurdle on Ladies Day, previously known as the Coral Cup, will be run as the BetMGM Cup Handicap Hurdle starting this March. The race is scheduled for Wednesday, 11 March, the midpoint of the four-day meeting.
The company already backs the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the headline event on the same afternoon.
With the additional title, BetMGM’s branding will frame two races on one of the festival’s most commercially visible days, a straightforward calculation in a week that draws some of horse racing’s largest audiences.
Cheltenham, held each March in Gloucestershire, remains the central fixture of the National Hunt calendar. Crowds across the four days typically total more than 250,000.
For bookmakers, the festival represents a concentrated stretch of turnover, both on course and through online platforms, unmatched elsewhere in the British racing year.
BetMGM is already an Official Betting Partner of The Jockey Club, whose name has been used for several races over the last few seasons.
Some of the races that BetMGM has sponsored include the Grade 2 Haldon Gold Cup, which was run at Exeter, the Grade 2 Elite Hurdle, which was run at Wincanton, and the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes, which was run at Newmarket.
BetMGM steps in after Coral calls it quits
The change follows the stepping back of Coral, owned by Entain, which had sponsored the race since its launch in 1993 and held a partnership with the Cheltenham Festival since 1974. Coral confirmed in January that it would end the arrangement.
The company pointed to tax increases announced in the UK’s most recent budget as the reason for pulling back its sponsorship spend.
In November, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced remote gaming duty, which applies to online casino-style products, will increase to 40% from 21% starting 1 April.
Remote betting duty on sports wagering, excluding domestic horse racing, is set to rise to 25% from 15% beginning 1 April 2027.
Although betting on British horse racing is not included in the planned sports betting duty increase, the broader tax adjustments affect operators with significant online exposure.
Several bookmakers have said they are reviewing costs and marketing commitments in light of the changes.
Cheltenham’s Wednesday programme, commonly referred to as Ladies Day, blends elite competition with heavy commercial visibility.
The Champion Chase anchors the afternoon while the handicaps, including the newly branded BetMGM Cup, draw large fields and significant wagering interest.
For BetMGM, the additional race consolidates its presence at the sport’s most commercially concentrated meeting.
For Cheltenham, it ensures continuity of sponsorship at a time when the regulatory and tax environment facing bookmakers is shifting.