Betfred has gone through with its promise to pull sponsorship of all five British Classics, including the Derby, following Labour’s attack on gambling in the Budget.
It was a long-held ambition of Fred Done, who founded the company in Manchester in the late 1960s on the back of a big win in the 1966 World Cup, to sponsor all five Classics.
But it did not take long for the chickens to come home to roost following the Budget. In 2025, Done achieved his dream by adding both Guineas to the Derby, Oaks and the St Leger, but he has now gone through with his promise to pull out.
Done had warned he would be forced to end his sponsorship agreement if John Healey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, raised machine-game duty in the Budget. No figure has ever been put on Betfred’s contribution to those races, but it is believed to have been in the millions, and although it went up five percentage points – less than anticipated in some quarters – to 25 per cent, it turned out it was not an empty threat.
