(AsiaGameHub) – UK heritage bookmaker Betfred has reinforced its dedication to British horse racing during a challenging period, bringing back its £2 million Triple Crown bonus for the 2026 flat season.
The operator, which is extending its historic sponsorship of all five British Classics, will award the bonus to the connections of any horse that manages to win the historic trio of the 2000 Guineas, Epsom Derby, and St Leger Stakes – an accomplishment not seen since Nijinsky achieved the sweep in 1970.
While the Triple Crown has been won 15 times historically, it has grown more difficult to attain in modern UK horse racing.
Probable challengers are expected from the stables of Aidan O’Brien and Charlie Appleby. O’Brien’s horse Gstaad is an 11/2 chance for this weekend’s Guineas and 33/1 for the Derby in June. O’Brien-trained colts Pierre Bonnard and Christmas Day have also become early 6/1 joint favourites with bookmaker Unibet for this year’s St Leger.
Betfred made history last year as the first firm to sponsor all five of racing’s premier events and will repeat this in 2026, starting with the Guineas festival at Newmarket this weekend.
The focus then moves to the Epsom Oaks and Epsom Derby in June, finishing with the 250th edition of the St Leger Stakes at Doncaster Racecourse in September.
This pledge is made even as marketing budgets are being squeezed across the UK because of the newly implemented 40% tax on Remote Gaming Duty (RGD).
“It was an honour last year to be the first company ever to sponsor all five British Classics, and I am excited to repeat it this year,” stated Betfred founder Fred Done.
“That is the reason I am putting up the £2million Triple Crown bonus once more. Nijinsky was certainly one of the legends, and it is high time we celebrated another Triple Crown winner.
“Will another horse step up, create history, and achieve it again?”
Betfred to push forward despite tax increases
The company, which runs approximately 1,350 retail shops plus a Gibraltar-based online gaming site, has been candid about the effect recent tax rises will have on its £1bn gross profit.
Fred and his brother Paul led The Sunday Times tax list for 2025 for the first time, paying roughly £400m in taxes.
Betfred Management has been transparent about planning for worst-case outcomes, which could involve numerous shop closures.
The bookmaker is not isolated in this situation – other leading UK operators like Ladbrokes Coral owner Entain and evoke, the parent company of William Hill, have already verified that a number of their high-street shops will close.
Marketing spending has been cut industry-wide, with Coral ending its long-running Coral Cup sponsorship at the Cheltenham Festival, and SBC News seeing an email indicating a reduction in Paddy Power’s marketing team size.
Nevertheless, Betfred evidently continues to find worth in sponsorship, maintaining its associations with rugby’s Super League and the PDC World Matchplay at Blackpool’s famous Winter Gardens.
A headline-grabbing prize of this magnitude is certain to draw additional focus to the British bookmaker before a flat racing season that promises entertainment, notwithstanding regulatory disagreements within the industry.
This article is provided by a third-party. AsiaGameHub (https://asiagamehub.com/) makes no warranties regarding its content.
AsiaGameHub delivers targeted distribution for iGaming, Casino, and eSports, connecting 3,000+ premium Asian media outlets and 80,000+ specialized influencers across ASEAN.