William Hill is the new sponsor of the Grade 1 Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown Racecourse in County Kildare, Ireland, the bookmaker and the racecourse announced on 28 October. The race, now the William Hill Morgiana Hurdle, is run on Saturday 21 November 2026.
The agreement adds to William Hill’s sponsorship of the Grade 1 William Hill Champion Chase at the Punchestown Festival, giving the bookmaker a presence at two of the racecourse’s main fixtures.
Punchestown describes the William Hill Morgiana as one of the top two-mile hurdle races on the calendar, regularly used by reigning and potential champions for their seasonal debuts. The roll of honour includes last year’s winner Lossiemouth, the current Cheltenham and Punchestown Champion hurdler, her predecessor State Man and Hurricane Fly, who won the race three times in a row in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Premiere Weekend
The William Hill Morgiana Hurdle opens Punchestown’s Premiere Weekend, held on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November 2026, with a Grade 1 race on each day.
Saturday’s William Hill Morgiana Hurdle is followed by the John Durkan Memorial Chase on Sunday, with a supporting programme of Graded, Listed and cross-country races. The meeting also offers hospitality, and the Punchestown Race & Dine package sold out in advance.
In 2025, the Cheltenham and Punchestown Gold Cup winner and the Champion Hurdle winners all made their seasonal debuts at Premiere Weekend, as did the winners of the Ryanair, the Grand National and four Punchestown Festival races. In total, runners from the 2025 Premiere Weekend went on to win 11 Grade 1 races.
Sponsor and racecourse comments
Andrew McCleave, Head of Marketing at William Hill Ireland, said the bookmaker is sponsoring the race for the first time this season.
The William Hill Morgiana Hurdle is always a big race in the Jumps calendar, and we look forward to kicking off as sponsors for the first time this season. We’re delighted to be sponsoring a race which features the likes of Lossiemouth, Faugheen and Hurricane Fly on the roll of honour, and we’re excited to see who follows in their hoofprints this year.
Sponsorship of the Morgiana further adds to our visibility at the track via the William Hill Challenge Series and the William Hill Champion Chase, so we’re really looking forward to the season ahead at Punchestown. From the grassroots to Grade 1s, we’re excited to see what this campaign will bring.
Andrew McCleave, Head of Marketing, William Hill Ireland
Janet Creighton, Marketing and Sponsorship Manager at Punchestown Racecourse, said William Hill now sponsors Grade 1 races at both ends of the Punchestown season.
The William Hill team have doubled down on their commitment to Irish Jumps racing with this sponsorship. They now top and tail the Punchestown season at Grade 1 level on our biggest days which really shows how much they value and support Irish National Hunt racing.
The Premiere Weekend has gone from strength to strength, as has William Hill’s support at Punchestown. We look forward to continuing to grow this partnership and deliver more brilliant racing.
Janet Creighton, Marketing and Sponsorship Manager, Punchestown Racecourse
Punchestown Premiere Weekend runs on 21 and 22 November 2026 with racing, hospitality, live music and family entertainment. Two-day weekend tickets cost €35 until 15 November.
Industry context
The sponsorship comes as Ireland moves to a new licensing regime under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) began accepting applications for remote and in-person betting licences on 5 February 2026, according to a parliamentary reply in Dáil Éireann on 14 April 2026. The reply states that the Act’s advertising provisions mostly apply to licensed operators, and that Section 144 lets the GRAI set the times, places and events where gambling advertising can be broadcast, displayed or published. The GRAI published guidance on advertising, branded clothing and sponsorship in January 2026.
William Hill is owned by Evoke, which reported a 7% fall in third-quarter revenue to £406m on 23 October, ahead of its planned takeover by Bally’s Intralot. In Britain, bookmaker sponsorship of racing fell 17% in a year after duty rises, with Bet365, Betfred and Flutter cutting back.
Source: William Hill and Punchestown Racecourse
