Airport retailer Dubai Duty Free has renewed its title sponsorship of the Irish Derby horse-racing event.
The new deal covers the 2018 edition of the race, which takes place at the Curragh Racecourse in County Kildare on June 30.
The event, which serves as the highlight of the three-day Irish Derby Festival, will retain its official title of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby. Dubai Duty Free will also sponsor five other races on June 30 as title sponsor of the Festival itself.
Dubai Duty Free began its sponsorship of the race in 2008, having initially partnered with Curragh Racecourse in 2002. Dubai Duty Free is the third commercial sponsor of the Irish Derby after the Irish Sweepstakes and Anheuser-Busch/Budweiser.
The total value of this year’s race will be €1.5m ($1.9m), with the winner to receive €870,000.
Dubai Duty Free will again partner with Curragh Racecourse to offer free entry to the winners and placed horses of a range of races leading up to the Irish Derby. This initiative was launched in 2015.
Colm McLoughlin, executive vice-chairman and chief executive of Dubai Duty Free, said: “The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby is now a weekend festival of quality racing and entertainment and the media exposure generated greatly raises the profile of our brand in Ireland.”