Kempton Park Racecourse is to be the new home of The Mascot Grand National.
Taking place on Bank Holiday, Monday 7th May, the race is set to break boundaries as Kempton Park ups the stakes with an attempt at a Guinness World Record for the largest mascot gathering, currently held at 166 mascots at a venue in Germany. Now in its 13th year, The Mascot Grand National draws mascots from across the UK with past entries including squirrels, hippos and giant dogs, all taking part to fundraise for charity. There are high levels of anticipation to see who will become lead sponsor in what organisers expect will be the race’s Guinness World Record-breaking year.
As horseracing is the second largest spectator sport in the UK, coverage of the event is anticipated through Sky Sports as well as screening via Turf TV and to an audience of over 500,000 viewers on Racing UK. YouTube and social media channels are also expected to feature as significant ways for potential sponsors to benefit from the event.
Kempton Park is part of The Jockey Club, the largest commercial group in British horseracing, and is renowned for its creative take on traditional horse racing. In December 2011, Kempton Park hosted its inaugural Christmas reindeer racing, which was picked up by media across the globe, as well as hitting gaining over 29,000 YouTube hits. With 3.2 million homes in a 60 minute radius of the racecourse, sponsors have become increasingly attracted to the branding and sponsorship opportunities that the racecourse offers and the access it affords to a wider televised audience.
Simon Beynon, sales director for Kempton Park Racecourse, said, “We are really excited to be running The Mascot Grand National, as the race embodies a fun take on a traditional sport – something we are keen to be associated with. We are looking forward to seeing who becomes the lead sponsor and benefits from the massive reach this race has across all media channels.”
