Racecourse Media Group (RMG) and The Horsemen’s Group have negotiated a new 48-hour declarations agreement, which will underpin the sale of media rights to overseas betting territories.

Forty-eight-hour declarations have successfully increased revenues and been instrumental in the promotion of British and Irish racing overseas. The new three-year deal – which starts on January 1 and replaces an initial three-year agreement – includes incentives for The Horsemen’s Group, such as appearance money and added prize-money, to reflect the Group’s continued support and assistance of 48-hour declarations.

Simon Bazalgette, Group Chief Executive of The Jockey Club Group, which owns 13 of the RMG racecourses, said: “Without 48-hour declarations we simply could not sell our racing into big markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Turkey and Australia where we expect to see further growth in the next few years. The horsemen will share in that growth as these new markets, in different time zones, develop.”

Alan Morcombe, Chief Executive of The Horsemen’s Group, said: “The 48-hour agreement between the RMG racecourses and The Horsemen’s Group is another example of racecourses and the horsemen working well together for the benefit of racing. The agreement acknowledges that racecourses accept that they should recompense the horsemen for enabling 48-hour declarations for the purpose of generating new revenue and profit streams for the racecourses. It is very good news that RMG racecourses can now commit to selling their media rights overseas.”