Betfred walks away from sponsoring all five British Classics after tax rise

Betfred will end its sponsorship of all five British Classics after deciding against a proposed three-year renewal.

The bookmaker blamed the increase in machine games duty from 20 to 25 per cent in Britain’s October 28 budget.

Chairman Fred Done had warned before the budget that Betfred would walk away from a verbal agreement with the Jockey Club and Arena Racing Company (Arc) if the duty rose.

Betfred’s modelling found the increase would make 284 of its remaining 1094 shops loss-making and put 1420 jobs at risk.

“The cumulative cost of government policy has left us with no choice,” a Betfred spokesperson said.

Betfred took on the Derby and Oaks in 2023 and added the St Leger later that year. It then took over the 2000 and 1000 Guineas from 2025, becoming the first brand to back all five Classics, and offered a £2 million Triple Crown bonus.

The Jockey Club’s Amy Starkey said the club was “currently in conversations with a number of interested prospective partners”.

ARC’s David Leyden Dunbar said that “in the face of such regulatory headwinds”, partnerships like Doncaster’s “would inevitably become collateral damage”.