The tote is synonymous with horse racing and our contribution in the way of sponsorship, demonstrates our unrivaled support for the sport.

The first race that the tote sponsored was The Tote Investors Cup at Kempton, back in 1956. Through the years, we have continued to sponsor the big races, with the most notable examples today being the totesport Ebor and the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The Ebor is the jewel in the crown of the four-day Ebor Festival held at York. It is run over a distance of one mile and six furlongs and takes place each August. It is presently the most valuable flat handicap in Europe, with a prize fund of £210,000 in 2009.

Often known as the Blue Riband of jump racing, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is the most prestigious of all National Hunt events. The Gold Cup is the most valuable non-handicap chase in Britain, and in 2010 it offered a total prize fund of £475,000.

As well as sponsoring these huge events, totesport understands the importance of financially supporting the grass roots of the sport. We provide sponsorship of a number of races at the UK’s smaller courses, that enable local events with rich histories to continue.

In 2009, totesport paid £4,500,000 to UK racing in sponsorship and donations. Of the £9.3 million in prize money that was handed out, £3.3 million was funded by totesport and we sponsored a record 495 races, at 124 individual race meetings held at 56 different courses.

Our contribution to racing extends beyond the confines of traditional race sponsorship. We believe that it is imperative to support those that support the sport of racing. Many charities affiliated to racing benefit directly from our race sponsorship and we have made valuable donations to the likes of Racing Welfare and the Injured Jockeys Fund.

In addition, we sponsor 571 owners and partnerships through the Racehorse Owners Association sponsorship scheme. As a result, the totesport logo featured on the racecourse 4582 times on jockey silks in 2009.

The current economic climate had made the going tough for everyone and racing is no exception. We hope that our continued support of UK horse racing, will make things that little bit easier.