Virgin Bet To Sponsor 2023 December Gold Cup At Cheltenham On Saturday

Top UK bookmaker, Virgin Bet, have taken over the sponsorship reins of the December Gold Cup – this Saturday’s big race at the Cheltenham Christmas Meeting.

Virgin Bet have taken over from the Racing Post, who backed the race the last time it was run in 2021, with the 2022 renewal called off due to a frozen track. Before that the showcase December contest at Cheltenham was known as the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup.

The December Gold Cup carries a first prize of £74,035, with a total purse of £130k and will be run on Saturday 16th December. The newly named Virgin Bet Gold Cup is the showcase contest of the two-day December Meeting at Prestbury Park that starts a day earlier on Friday 15th.

It’s a race run over a trip of 2m 4 1/2f on the New Course at Cheltenham (1:50pm) and horse racing fans will welcome back the meeting after officials were forced to call it off in 2022 due to snow and a frozen track.

Therefore, the last running of the event was in 2021 when the Evan Williams-trained Coole Cody (watch below).

December Gold Cup Race Details

📅Date: Saturday 16th December 2023
🕙Time: 1:50pm
🏇Racecourse: Cheltenham (2m 4 1/2f)
💰 Winner: £74,035.00
📺 TV: ITV / Racing TV

Virgin Bet Marketing Director Ric Leask said: “We are thrilled to announce Virgin Bet’s sponsorship of the December Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

“We are passionate about delivering an unparalleled sports betting experience, and there’s no better way to showcase this commitment than by supporting one of the most prestigious events in the racing calendar.”

The leading betting site are also sponsoring the final Cheltenham race on the Saturday 16th December card, which is at 3:35pm.

In addition to the race sponsorship, Virgin Bet are offering a £1,000 ‘best turned out’ prize for their race, plus the Gibraltar-based firm are also donating £5,000 to the Gold Cup 100 Community Fund.

Saturday’s Virgin Bet December Gold Cup will be the 54th running of the race that was first run in 1963. While trainer Paul Nicholls, who has won the race five times in the past is the most successful yard in the history of the race. Nicholls runs Monmiral and Il Ridoto in 2023 in a bid to try and improve his record.

You can also join Virgin Bet and get a £20 free bet for staking £10 – find out more here.

Andy Newton

Sports news observer

Andy Newton

Sports news observer

Andy Newton is a well-known horse racing and sports betting writer that specialises in using key trends and stats to help find winners and unique betting approaches. Over the years, Andy has built up many industry contacts, including with some of the leading horse racing stables in the UK with his time running the Trainers-Quotes site and has also ghost-written for former top jockey Richard Dunwoody. Andy is also the former sports betting editor of odds comparison site Easyodds and JuiceStorm and appeared on many betting podcasts for MatchBook and BetBright. You can also find his views via his monthly Racing Ahead magazine column, which he’s held a slot for over 10 years. Now a regular on Bettingsites.co.uk too giving his views, trends and tips mainly on horse racing and football - so if there's a stat to be unearthed and it's a sport, Andy is sure to find an interesting betting angle. Here’s a look at a sampling of where Andy’s expertise has been mentioned: Racing Ahead Magazine Trainers-Quotes JuiceStorm GeeGeez

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