Ladbrokes Belgium has contracted to take Arena Racing Company’s (“ARC”) European Racing Channel (ERC) into its network of shops in Belgium.
The agreement enables Belgium’s biggest retail betting shop operator, to now showcase all UK horseracing and BAGS greyhound racing to a growing audience across Belgium.
“We are committed to offering our customers live events of the highest quality and this new agreement with ARC ensures we now can offer all UK horseracing and BAGS greyhound racing together with Australian, South African and North American content. This will be available in all our shops and on our betting terminals to cement our place as market leaders” said Ladbrokes Belgium’s Managing Director, Yannik Bellefroid.
ARC’s Director of International Markets, Antony Hopkins, said: “We are delighted that Ladbrokes Belgium has committed to show the European Racing Channel across their retail estate in Belgium. This will give them access to our quality UK and international thoroughbred content and they will receive all BAGS greyhound content which provides the reliability and margins that are so important for operators and their customers.”
Retail Operations Director for Ladbrokes Belgium, Tom Stammeleer, said: “We couldn’t be happier to have entered into this agreement with ARC to ensure that our customers now have access to all UK thoroughbred racing, along with top quality international horse and greyhound racing, including importantly all BAGS content.”
The European Racing Channel (ERC) comprises thoroughbred and greyhound content from Tier 1 jurisdictions of the UK, South Africa, Australia and North America. There are over 45,000 live events each calendar year in the service.
For more information, please conact
Sam Cone
PR & Communications Manager
Arena Racing Company
Office: 020 7802 5120
Mobile: 07920 404 296
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk
3rd Floor, Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP
About ARC:
Arena Racing Company (“ARC”) is the largest racecourse operator in the UK. In 2019 ARC Group racecourses will host 570 fixtures with 1.2 million people attending racing at one of ARC’s racecourses each year.
ARC is made up of the following sixteen racecourses: Bath, Brighton, Chepstow, Doncaster, Ffos Las, Fontwell Park, Great Yarmouth, Hereford, Lingfield Park, Newcastle, Royal Windsor, Sedgefield, Southwell, Uttoxeter, Wolverhampton and Worcester.
ARC runs four of the six all-weather racecourses in the UK offering three different types of surface for horses to run on: Polytrack at Lingfield Park, fibresand at Southwell Racecourse and tapeta at Newcastle and Wolverhampton Racecourses – the only tapeta racing surfaces in Europe.
In 2013 ARC pioneered the All-Weather Championships which see horses compete throughout the winter for the chance of qualifying for a £1 million Finals Day on Good Friday at Lingfield Park. This initiative is helping raise the profile and prestige of all-weather racing in Great Britain.
ARC hosts racing at all levels of the sport from Class 7 through to Group 1s. Doncaster Racecourse is home to the world’s oldest Classic, the William Hill St Leger, run each year in September as part of the four-day William Hill St Leger Festival as well as the final Group 1 of the year in Britain, the Vertem Futurity Trophy. Feature jumps races include the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle Racecourse, the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow Racecourse and Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter Racecourse.
As well as racing, ARC also operates a hotel at Wolverhampton Racecourse, a hotel, spa resort and golf course at Lingfield Park and The Border Minstrel public house at Newcastle Racecourse in the grounds of Gosforth Park. The Hilton Garden Inn Doncaster Racecourse opened in September 2018.
ARC is a significant shareholder in the horseracing TV channel Sky Sports Racing which is broadcast on the Sky platform to c.14 million homes.
ARC plays a pivotal role in British Racing. It is a shareholder in British Champions Series and Racecourse Data Company; a signatory to a British Horseracing Authority’s and Horsemen’s Group Prize Money Agreement; and on the boards of the Racecourse Association (“RCA”), Great British Racing (“GBR”) and British Champion Series (“BCS”).
In 2015 ARC set up The Racing Partnership. This limited company represents the media rights of the 16 ARC owned-racecourses and the 6 independent racecourses Fakenham, Hexham, Newton Abbot, Plumpton, Ripon and Towcester.
In addition to racecourses ARC owns Newcastle and Sunderland Greyhound Stadia and looks after the media interests of the Greyhound Media Group (“GMG”).
ARC employs 650 permanent staff and engages with 3,500 casual staff for racing and events across its racecourses. Further information about ARC can be found at www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk.
