BetMGM has become the latest bookmaker to back out of sponsoring a high-profile UK horse race as the company confirmed its intention to cut its sponsorship of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle in Newcastle.
The LeoVegas-owned industry giant, which only launched in the UK just over two years ago, began sponsoring the event in 2024 but has now cut ties with the first leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling.
The race has seen high-profile winners in recent years and has been dominated by Nicky Henderson-trained horses, including Epatante, Sir Gino and Constitution Hill – the latter of whom made his flat debut last week in a statement victory at Southwell. Its previous sponsors include fellow bookmakers BetVictor and Betfair.
It is a Grade 1 contest, featuring the best of British horseracing, and was won by back-to-back Cheltenham winner Golden Ace back in November. The mare is now an industry-best 7/1 shot to retain her Champion Hurdle title next month.
The race is generally considered as Newcastle’s biggest of the jumps season but will now have to look for a new sponsor as BetMGM continues the trend of bookmakers withdrawing sponsorships of some of the UK’s most iconic races.
“We continuously conduct strategic reviews of our partnerships and sponsorship portfolio in light of the evolving market landscapes, as seen in the UK,” a spokesperson for LeoVegas-operated BetMGM told SBC News.
“We remain committed to horse racing in the UK and will continue to support the sport while growing our market position, regularly assessing and prioritising our investments.”
BetMGM joins bookmaker exodus?
Just last month, Entain-owned Coral dropped its sponsorship of the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival after 52 years, giving tax rises increasing as the reason.
Fellow businesses Flutter Entertainment and Evoke, who both own companies which take up a large portion of the UK market, have also confirmed marketing cuts, with the former estimating a reduction in investment of 20% from April-September 2026.
In November, during the week in which the Autumn Budget was announced, BetGoodwin CEO Julian Head told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast: “I don’t know how the rest of the industry feels, but I feel very disappointed with horse racing.
“I’ve already spoken to or sent an email to my contacts at Fontwell, where I do extensive sponsorship, and said I won’t be renewing for next season. A similar email will be going out to Plumpton.”
While many firms in the industry still prioritise horse racing as a core product, there seems to be a worrying trend of cutbacks in recent months.
One X user vented their frustrations on the social media platform, commenting: “Rachel Reeves might be starting to kill off horse racing.
“The sport runs on betting sponsorship and they’re starting to pull out because of her tax raids.”