Race Partnerships

Morven Park Steeplechase

Date Sheet

Audience Information

Premier $50,000 Level

Presenting $25,000 Level

Westmoreland $15,000 Level

Marguerite $10,000 Level

Museums $5,000 Level

Additional Partnership Opportunities

Hospitality Packages

A noted sports journalist once described steeplechasing as a cross between a lawn picnic and a cavalry charge. And so it is, a unique blend of social ambiance and horse racing over fences.

Today, steeplechasing is enjoying a resurgence in popularity during a time when most spectator sports are struggling to hold their own at the gate. It is not just a desire to “see and be seen” that attracts record steeplechase crowds – there is a deepening appreciation for the highly refined athletic skills needed to survive in the sport much less finish in front. It is a sport not without its danger, yet one which consistently rewards grace and skill.

The demographics of the steeplechase spectator are well established. He can afford to pay from $25 to $150 for the right to gain entry to the race course. He has substantial discretionary income that he tends to spend on things that give him intellectual as well as sporting enjoyment. He is a traveler, a businessman, a person to whom others look for trend setting behavior. He does not decide whether to do things so much as he decides with whom to do things. His selective process is traditionally guided by the parameters that made him successful in the first place.

If a steeplechase meet which a decade ago attracted 2,500 people is today attracting well over 10,000, it is an indication that people of like mind and resources are finding a common social meeting ground. They are impressed by what they see, and they do not forget it from race meet to race meet. The numbers speak for themselves.

Mercedes. Jaguar. Delta. Copenhagen Skoal. R.J. Reynolds. Anheuser-Busch. All these and others are today involved in promotional visibility before the equestrian sports. Why? Because the audience has a known demographic profile. It is a primary target audience for companies that are interested in promoting before a defined vertical market. It is an identity field sport – one in which a merchandising purchase overlaps a special interest market of 3.5 million horse owners. It is a special interest market whose buying power is matched only by owners of yachts and airplanes, yet it is much larger than either.

For an example, here are this year's race sponsors who are taking advantage of the draw of the Morven Park Steeplechase Races:

2006 Race Partners
Adelphia Media Services	Clark & Collins, P.C.	Loudoun Independent
BB & T	10th Congressional District Democratic Committee	NV Homes - Courtland Rural Village and Village Green at Elysian Heights
Booz Allen Hamilton	FBR