It’s that time again - the Marmite “Team” raceday - where racing falls into two or three camps. The purists, who hate change; the traditionalists, who hate concerts and candy floss; the Just People who are just looking for a jolly day out during the school holiday where, if they can smuggle a picnic in, they can have a reasonably priced day out with the kids and hopefully with some sun.
On the plus side, most attendees end up having a very jolly day, and yes, some of them are watching a sport they rarely see because they’re going to the concert afterwards. I have no idea how many converts to racing The Shergar Cup and the concert delivers, but it’s been going 20 years, and somebody keeps sticking money into the pot to keep it going.
This year, they are in for a musical treat because the blurb tells me that the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup (DDFSC) is having an historic first collaboration between Ascot Racecourse and The Cambridge Club, a renowned music festival provider. Who knew?
The concert schedule is as follows:
17:15-18:00 Scouting For Girls
18:00-18:45 Denise Van Outen (DJ set)
18:45-19:30 Ministry of Sound Ibiza Anthems ft. Ellie Sax
19:30-20:00 Denise Van Outen (DJ set)
20:00-21:00 Sugababes
Crikey—once upon a time, I remember you got 90 minutes of Mel C being a bit grumpy, which was your lot. Then, you were bossily told to go home and not frighten the neighbours on the way out. Now, it’s almost four solid hours of Dad-dancing to a panoply of talent.
Having been involved in the Shergar Cup almost since its inception in 1999, it's hard to continue being negative about it. Also, God bless them, DDF has, I think, been sponsoring at least one of the races almost since Day 1. Given that each race is a handicap and the prize money levels are decent, this is now a target meeting for several leading trainers—which is also probably a good thing!
We had some rare old times there, and the event was our test ground for many PR and marketing innovations. It was the first time corporate logos appeared in the winner's enclosure at Ascot in the First, Second, and Third spots. Ditto on the Furlong markers. Ditto on the stall handlers’ jackets - because we gave them the jackets. We also put logos on top of the starting stalls. The first two thousand people through the gate got a free baseball cap - one I noticed the other day is on eBay for £10. Every Flag pole had a Blue Square flag or an Ascot one. Even though I say so myself, it was an event that set the branding and marketing pace for several sports and racing sponsorships.
Sorry about the trumpet blowing - music and racing mixed together… who would have guessed?
Good luck.
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