Sheffield-based greyhound racing event the Steel City Cup has named recently-established local sports betting operator BresBet as its new title sponsor.
The deal will see the tournament – taking place between 16 October and 30 October at the city’s Owlerton Stadium – be branded as the BresBet Steel City Cup.
Initial heats will be held on 16 October, followed by a semi-final on 23 October and a final on 30 October, with the winner set to receive £8,000 and all other finalists will be paid £1,000.
Founded in 1970, notable winners of the race include Greyhound Derby Champion Bandicoot Tipoki and 1980 and 2002 Greyhound of the Year winners Desert Pilot and Droppys Rhys.
“The track has been part of my life for as long as I can remember,” said Daivd Perry, Managing Director at BresBet. “Myself and my brother Carl (BresBet’s Head of Trading) went there as kids – and have never stopped going. We both had our first jobs at Owlerton and Carl ended up being a trainer there.
“The track has a great history and the Steel City Cup is very much part of that. During my time there I spent a lot of time promoting the Steel City Cup and finals nights were always the biggest meetings of the year – so it’s great to be back.”
Established earlier this month, BresBet has outlined a commercial objective to ‘get back into betting’, with a particular focus on providing ‘customer friendly’ services, primarily concerning horse and greyhound racing.
Upon its launch, the company gained the title sponsorship to the 75th East Anglian Greyhound Derby at Yarmouth Stadium and partnered with Uttoxeter and Warwick horse racecourses upon its launch.
In addition to confirming that it had entered into discussions with other racing venues in order to enhance its brand across both forms of racing, the operator has also signed champion jockey Paddy Brennan as its first ‘Racing Legend’.
Brennan will work to support the firm’s BresBet Foundation, a charity tasked with backing horse and greyhound welfare charities, as the issue of the welfare of competing animals becomes increasingly prominent on the Greyhound Board of Great Britain’s (GBGB) objectives.
“We’ve had some great nights at Owlerton Stadium over the years and it’s a real honour to now become sponsors of the BresBet Steel City Cup,” added Nic Brereton, Founder and Chairman of BresBet.
“Horse racing is at the core of our business, but our love of greyhound racing will ensure that BresBet will feature prominently across both sports in terms of partnerships and sponsorships – we were delighted to support Yarmouth with a really successful BresBet East Anglian Derby and we’re looking forward to announcing other partnerships and sponsorships soon.”
