Matchbook Betting Exchange Becomes Title Sponsor of St Leger Greyhound Racing Competition
Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI) has announced Matchbook Betting Exchange as the title sponsor of the 2021 Irish St Leger, which takes place over five weekends during October and November at Limerick Greyhound Stadium.
Matchbook’s first sponsorship partnership with GRI results in the betting exchange sponsoring one of Ireland’s oldest and most prestigious greyhound racing events in the Irish racing calendar.
Ger Dollard, CEO of GRI, Paul Geasley (Matchbook) and Eric Hegarty (Matchbook) at the announcement that Matchbook Betting Exchange will become the title sponsor of Irish St. Leger at Limerick Greyhound Stadium for 2021. The Classic Event commences on Saturday 30th October and the final is the Saturday 27th November.
Gerard Dollard, CEO of Greyhound Racing Ireland, said, “We are delighted to welcome Matchbook to Limerick Greyhound Stadium as title sponsor of the St Leger, an event with a long and prestigious history.”
“GRI has secured a number of new sponsors in recent years, which has helped promote greyhound racing and support the GRI in progressing the delivery of a range of the care and welfare initiatives,” added Mr Dollard. “The newest sponsorship agreement demonstrates Matchbook’s commitment to the greyhound racing industry and provides a significant boost to the St Leger, which will offer a first prize of €30,000 to the winner.”
Matchbook’s Head of Marketing Eric Hegarty commented, “We are delighted to be partnering with Greyhound Racing Ireland in becoming the title sponsor of the St Leger and to be associated with such a distinguished event with a proud history. Furthermore, the opportunity to support the Greyhound industry in Ireland is one that we very much are looking forward to as we continue to expand our greyhound product offering.”
Epic Hero, trained by Tipperary-based Thomas O’Donovan, won the 2020 St Leger in a time of 29.44 seconds, the third-fastest winning time recorded in the 88 years since the event was first held in Belfast in 1932.
Round 1 of the 2021 St Leger will be held on Saturday, 30th October. Rounds 2 and 3 will take place on November 6th and November 13th, respectively, while the Semi-Final takes place on November 20th, followed by the Final on November 27th. The Final will also be broadcast live online and on Racing Post Greyhound TV (RPGTV). Visit www.grireland.ie for more.
