Sandown Guineas winner Caymans parades the Betfair logo at Sandown on Saturday. 24665 By Paul Pickering
SANDOWN Racecourse is now Betfair Park, but what’s in a name?
Plenty, according to Greater Dandenong councillor and Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) member Peter Brown.
Cr Brown this week joined a chorus of uproar about the three-year sponsorship deal struck between the MRC – owner and operator of the Sandown and Caulfield racecourses – and British online betting exchange Betfair last Thursday (13 November).
The incumbent Keysborough South Ward councillor said the naming-rights deal would compromise the identity of the venue.
“It’s a great shame,” Cr Brown said.
“It disappoints me, as both a club member and a councillor, that the club is adopting a strategy that detracts from the identity of the place.”
Cr Brown, who was trackside for Saturday’s Sandown Classic meeting, said it was “a great shame” that his beloved course had become the first in Victoria to carry a sponsor’s name.
He conceded that the deal was a financial coup for the club, but echoed the concerns of industry doomsayers who believe the deal will jeopardise Racing Victoria Limited’s relationship with current wagering licensee Tabcorp.
Tabcorp’s financial support isn’t guaranteed beyond a 2012 licence review, so Cr Brown said he understood why the MRC had pounced on another revenue stream with Betfair.
But he lamented that the club had been “forced to prostitute itself” in a bid to survive, adding that the new deal would also take trade away from local bookmakers.
MRC chief executive Warran Brown anticipated the backlash to the announcement last week and moved to reassure the industry.
“Any initiatives that introduce new sponsors and break new ground can take a little time to adjust to and embrace,” he said.
“But we believe the company’s involvement will prove to be an extremely positive, exciting and successful development for our club.”
