Sponsor J&B bids the Met farewell
Cape Town " 160130 " JP van der Merwe won the Met Race on horse named Smart Call. The annual J&B Met horse race took place at the Kenilworth Racecourse Saturday the 30th of January 2016. Photographer: Armand Hough Cape Town " 160130 " JP van der Merwe won the Met Race on horse named Smart Call. The annual J&B Met horse race took place at the Kenilworth Racecourse Saturday the 30th of January 2016. Photographer: Armand Hough
South Africa's oldest horse racing event is set to announce a new sponsor after it was announced on Friday that top whisky brand Justerini & Brooks (J&B) will no longer sponsor the race previously known as the J&B Met.
Rob Scott, head media executive for Phumelela Gaming, said that “while it's sad to see the partnership come to an end, exciting opportunities are up for the taking”.
“We are in the process of closing a brand new deal and will announce our new sponsors of the Met in due course. The date of the running of the 2017 Cape Town Met will be announced at the same time,” Scott said.
He stressed that despite the coming announcement of a change in sponsorship, expected in “a couple of days”, the Met is still the greatest event in the Western Cape and will continue to hold pace.
“There is some very exciting stuff coming and I believe we will exceed the success we've achieved to this point,” Scott added.
Diageo SA, formally known as brandhouse and the local distributor of J&B whisky, yesterday ended speculation and made public that it would no longer continue its sponsorship of the Met.
The company said in a statement that over the 39 years it had served as sponsor “the J&B brand has invested significant resources to ensure the staging of this prestigious horse racing event” and that “over time it has grown to become the country's longest-standing sports sponsorship”.
Jeff Milliken, managing director of Diageo SA, said the 2016 J&B Met was the completion of a three-year contract commitment to the event.
Saturday Star