Punchestown Racecourse were announced winner of The Best Sponsorship Team in association with The Irish Times at an award ceremony held in Clontarf Castle Hotel, Thursday 22nd September.
The Punchestown sponsorship team of Leona Hughes, Janet Creighton and Conor O’Neill held off stiff competition to secure the top spot with judges complimenting the attention to detail, innovative approach and dedicated client interaction received by sponsors. Despite being a small team the Punchestown staff manage a full portfolio of forty-three event sponsors at the annual five day racing festival each April in addition to a further fifty sponsors and partners at fixtures throughout the year. Punchestown are proud to say that as one of Ireland’s largest sporting events with a significant UK attendace, almost 50% of the festival sponsors are Kildare based companies, further emphasising the importance of community and support of independent or family owned enterprises. Among the Punchestown sponsorship line-up are bookmaker super firms Paddy Power, William Hill and Ladbrokes alongside leading global property developer Ballymore, luxury lifestyle icon Bollinger Champagne and household names from the media, tech, financial, tourism, insurance, motor and construction sectors.
The home of Irish jump racing was shortlisted in two categories at the Irish Sponsorship Awards both of which featured some stiff competition with leading marketing agencies and in-house sponsorship departments in attendance on the night. The Punchestown team narrowly missed out on a big award double when pipped to the post by Lidl Ireland Ladies National Football in the Best Sporting Event Sponsorship category.
Delighted to see the sponsors and team receive such recognition Punchestown CEO Conor O’Neill said “We are very proud to fly the flag for Irish racing in such a competitive industry. This award is particularly special for our loyal and amazingly supportive sponsors who have stuck with us through some truly challenging times in recent years. We always say that people make Punchestown and never was that as evident as during Covid when, despite empty enclosures and racing behind closed doors, our sponsors rallied and championed Punchestown. Without this level of support we cannot deliver one of Irelands most prestigious and loved sporting events. I would like to take this opportunity to give credit to our small team who, despite lining up against some of the biggest names in the industry, have shown that customer service, exceeding expectation with passion for people and place makes all the difference every time. We look forward to welcoming new sponsors to Punchestown ahead of our next season!”
The Punchestown racing season gets underway Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th October and runs through to June 2023. The Punchestown festival takes place from Tuesday 25th to Friday 29th April 2023. For further information please visit www.punchestown.com
Anglesey Lodge Give Back With New Punchestown Sponsorship
Monday 09/09/2022 – Internationally renowned equine hospital Anglesey Lodge will join the sponsorship line up for Punchestown’s season return meeting this Tuesday, September 13th when the Anglesey Lodge Equine Hospital Two-Year-Old Maiden will be the second race on the card at the Kildare track.
Punchestown completes the thoroughbred county hat trick as Anglesey Lodge are already involved with both the Curragh and Naas racecourses. Practice partner Mark MacRedmond (MVB CertVPM MRCVS) explained the thinking behind the contribution: “Our reason to be involved is pretty straight forward – we simply want to give back to the industry. Anglesey Lodge has been fortunate enough to work alongside so many brilliant training establishments from yards big and small throughout the region for over 45 years. Sponsoring and contributing to the prize funds is the most effective and direct way we can further support the industry and give back. MacRedmond continued “Another particularly important factor is of course was the passion that practise founder and renowned vet Ned Gowing had for Punchestown. Ned Gowing established Anglesey Lodge back in 1976 and throughout his distinguished career he would always make time for racecourse duty at Punchestown, a place he just loved”.
In addition, the Anglesey Lodge team celebrate one year at their new Friarstown base having moved from their former facility of 19 years which was located next door to the final straight of the Curragh racecourse. The new Anglesey Lodge home is a custom built facility on 12.5 acres with state of the art facilities including 70 stables, double surgical theatres, blood sample laboratory, diagnostic and examination rooms. A panel of 18 vets, specialist surgeons, nurses, nursing assistants, grooms, lab technicians, practise managers and admin staff combine to make up what has become one of the most highly regarded teams in the global equine hospital industry. Anglesey Lodge Equine Hospital offers a full service from specialist surgery, lameness and pre-purchase exams to advanced nuclear scintigraphy.
Welcoming the new sponsors to the home of Irish jump racing Punchestown CEO Conor O’Neill said “We are fortunate to have the fantastic people resources of Anglesey Lodge available to us on race days as part of the vet support panel. Horse welfare and safety is paramount at Punchestown and to have such strength and depth of veterinary experience on our doorstep means horses that compete here have the very best of assistance should they require it. We take this opportunity to thank Mark, Thomas, Juan and the team for their contribution to our first meeting of the 22/23 season and look forward to continuing our association with Anglesey Lodge for many years to come”.
The Anglesey Lodge Equine Hospital Two Year Old Maiden is the second race on the only all flat fixture at Punchestown. Action gets underway at 2pm.