Arena Racing Company (“ARC”) and Newcastle Racecourse are delighted to announce Stobart Group as new headline sponsors of the three-day Northumberland Plate meeting. The iconic three-day festival, taking place this year from 28 – 30 June, is now titled the Stobart Group Festival of Racing, and will feature top class racing and entertainment.
The Stobart Group Festival of Racing commences with the Stobart Aviation Raceday on Thursday 28 June and continues on Friday 29 June with the Stobart Energy Raceday, featuring Scottish pop rock band Deacon Blue performing live after racing.
The historic festival concludes with the Stobart Rail & Civils Northumberland Plate Day on Saturday 30 June. Broadcast live on ITV1, the final day of the meeting features the £150,000 Stobart Rail & Civils Northumberland Plate, the richest two-mile handicap in Europe, and Newcastle’s most famous race.
The race was won in 2017 by Higher Power, trained by James Fanshawe and ridden by Tom Queally.
David Williamson, Executive Director at Newcastle Racecourse, said, “We are absolutely delighted to extend our partnership with Stobart Group at Newcastle Racecourse. We have enjoyed an excellent relationship with Stobart Group in recent years, and we are delighted to see them take overall sponsorship of the Northumberland Plate meeting, which is an institution in the region.
“We’d also like to thank longstanding sponsors, Betfred, who we’re very happy to see remain involved in the meeting, through sponsorship of races including the Northumberland Vase and Chipchase Stakes. They have been fantastic supporters of the Northumberland Plate over the years, and we’re looking forward to another three fantastic days racing and entertainment in June.”
ARC Director of Partnerships, David Leyden Dunbar said, “Stobart Group were instrumental in the installation of the world class Tapeta track at Newcastle, which has helped see some of the world’s best horses come to Gosforth Park since the track was opened. The partnership for the premier flat meeting in Newcastle’s calendar is an obvious extension of the relationship, which we are delighted to announce.”
Kirk Taylor, Managing Director of Stobart Rail & Civils, commented, “Stobart Group is delighted to sponsor this year’s Plate Festival at Newcastle Racecourse. Stobart was central to the development of the all-weather track at the racecourse and is a significant supporter of British racing. Our Rail & Civils division sponsored the Northumberland Plate in 2017 so we are very much looking forward to the Group supporting the whole festival in 2018. It will be great to see everyone there for what is sure to be a fantastic three days of racing.”
