Ireland’s largest independent bookmaker, BoyleSports, has reached an agreement with Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ)/Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI) to extend its sponsorship of the Irish Greyhound Derby for an additional three years up to 2026.
The announcement was made today at the launch of the 2023 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby at Ireland’s premier greyhound stadium, Shelbourne Park, Dublin. The new sponsorship agreement will bring BoyleSports title sponsorship of the event to an impressive thirteen consecutive years.
Throughout the last decade the race has gone from strength to strength with the Derby being the most prestigious greyhound racing competition in the country and is considered one of the biggest events in the international greyhound calendar. The journey to emulate the 2022 champion, Born Warrior, will get underway next month with the opening round of the competition taking place on Friday 28thand Saturday 29th July in Shelbourne Park. The competition will continue weekly, culminating in the Final on Saturday 2nd September, with the latter stages featuring on both Racing Post Greyhound TV and terrestrial TV.
John Tuohey, Interim CEO of RCÉ, said, “We are all looking forward to six weeks of exceptional greyhound racing. 2022 brought us one of the most exciting Derby events in many years, while there was an electric atmosphere at Shelbourne Park as crowds watched Born Warrior claim the title.
“We are delighted that BoyleSports has extended its 10-year relationship with the Irish Greyhound Derby during which time the company has committed €3m in prizemoney to our flagship event. The extension of this sponsorship agreement will see almost €1m in prize money being distributed over the next three years,” added Mr. Tuohey.
Sharon McHugh, Head of PR and Sponsorship for BoyleSports, commented, “BoyleSports is honoured to extend its long-term relationship with one of the world’s most illustrious greyhound racing competitions for a further three years. We are all looking forward to yet another competitive contest for the top prize this year.”
The sponsorship extension follows Greyhound Racing Ireland’s recent announcement of an increase in prize money for this year’s showcase event from €266,300 to €300,000, representing a rise of 13% on 2022. The change to the prizemoney structure involves an increased spread from the overall runner-up right down to unplaced second round entrants.
