Leading betting exchange Betfair announced Monday its ties with Gordon Elliott as a brand ambassador have been severed with immediate effect after a shocking image of the trainer hit the social networks during the weekend.
Completely at Odds with Brand Values
The Flutter-owned brand reacted to a photo of Elliott sitting on a dead horse which circulated over the weekend in social media networks, and despite the apology Elliot issued on Sunday, Betfair decided the image was a deal breaker.
“While we recognise that Gordon deeply regrets and apologised unreservedly for his poor judgement his actions are completely at odds with the values of the Betfair brand and that of our employees.”
Betfair
Gordon Elliott initially acknowledged on Saturday that the controversial image was in circulation and later on Sunday issued an apology to everyone working with and loving horses and re-affirmed his commitment to equine welfare.
“To the racing community, to anyone who has worked with and loves horses and to anyone offended by this image I cannot apologise enough. Horse welfare and the care and attention to detail involved is absolutely at the core of everything we do here and both myself and all of my team pride ourselves on those standards.”
Gordon Elliott
Elliott explained that he was distracted by a phone call while waiting for the horse, a victim of an apparent heart attack, to be removed from the gallops, but Betfair did not change its stance and terminated ties with the top trainer.
“With that in mind, we have decided to discontinue our association with Gordon with immediate effect.”
Betfair
Both parties have been linked since 2016 and Gordon Elliott has been regularly posting blogs about his runners and participating in promotional activities of the sports betting brand ever since.
Elliott’s greatest achievements include the 2007 Grand National title saddling Silver Birch, as well as the 2018 and 2019 runs of the prestigious event with Tiger Roll, and his 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup win with Don Cussack.
Regulatory Investigation
The controversial picture which appeared on Twitter Saturday, despite being a few years old, prompted investigation by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), and Elliott who is based at Cullentra House Stables in County Meath, expressed his willingness to cooperate fully.
The IHRB was urged by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) to act quickly with the investigation with regards to the upcoming Cheltenham Festival, an event in which Elliott is a regular and heavily presented.
Gordon Elliott was not the single popular name associated with Betfair, as the sports betting brand also features the names of Paul Nicholls, Ryan Moore and Joseph O’Brien as brand ambassadors.