Restart racing in Markopoulo, Attica, after five months

[BetLaden]

Race races are restarted in Markopoulo, Attica. Yesterday, the company "Horse Racing" announced the 2019 racing program, while according to information, a race is going on in order for the race to resume to start tomorrow's Sunday, 5 May 2019.


At the same time, OPAP plans to upgrade horse racing in Greece. After the appointment of a new administration in Filippo Union of Greece (FEE) and the change of the terms of the contract of the 20-year concession of horse racing, the organization is preparing to announce a series of new interventions and investments, to make the racecourse and horse racing more attractive. in Markopoulo, Attica.


Already, a giant screen has been placed on the field, worth 500.000 euros, which will make the viewing of the races better from the podium located at the racetrack. Also, the company appropriately designed the space between the track and the podium to create a paddock near the visitors. OPAP is expected to present a medium-term strategy for the development of the racecourse in Markopoulo, with interventions at both the infrastructure and the level of regulations, so that the races become, in addition to attractive, more functional. The strategy and all the interventions will be announced next Thursday at the racecourse facilities, in the presence of the racing community members.


OPAP seems to be in a hurry, as it took just a few days after the vote on the amendment that changed the terms of the race betting concession. One explanation has to do with the fact that the organization wants to immediately reciprocate the "grace" of the government to change the terms of the contract signed in 2015. Most likely, however, a lot of time was lost all the previous time, since never in history The racetrack in our country was not closed for such a long period, lasting 4 to 5 months. In other words, OPAP is afraid that it may lose the (few) customers of the racecourse and that is why it is running now.


Market participants report that OPAP expected the changes from last year or at least at the beginning of the year, immediately after the closure of the racecourse. The government, however, was slow to make decisions, possibly fearing political costs. It is noted that OPAP had stated that it would not operate the racetrack in the midst of a "hostile" Filippos Union of Greece (FEE) and without a partial modification of the terms of the concession contract. The contract that was signed gave the organization the right to suspend the operation of the racetrack without imposing clauses, since the racetrack operated for a long time with less than 300 horses.


It is also worth mentioning that the new BoD was appointed on Holy Monday. of FEE. The four elected members of FEE (A. Ralli, G. Parthenis, K. Skrepetos, I. Datsopoulos), the representatives of OPAP (Sp. Fokas, Od. Christoforou, Sp. Heimaras, K. Alexopoulos) were appointed as members. representatives of the Hellenic Horse Owners Association (M. Koutsomytis, N. Koutsouvelis) and the two representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Culture.


Now, a road race is taking place so that the Board of Directors. to meet today on Thursday Thursday to hold the first race on Sunday 5 May. If this is not feasible, then the first race for this year will be held on Sunday 12 May 2019.

Vangelis Mandravelis

SOURCE kathimerini

 

[BetLaden]

Answer: Restart racing in Markopoulo, Attica, after five months

Race races begin at Markopoulo on Sunday 5 May 2019

The company's Management presented the XMUMX Thursday 2 Thursday's 2019 event at the Athens Hippodrome in Markopoulo, the design of Horsesports SA for the overall development of the horse racing product. The event announced the resumption of the Greek races at 5 May 2019, as well as the introduction of Sunday, as the day of holding the racecourses. The club, the members of the Philippo Union of Greece and representatives of the organizations gave a dynamic presence at the event, which was honored with the presence of Deputy Minister of Sports George Vasiliadis.

The plan to restart the Greek horse races is based on three strategic pillars: the development of a sustainable Greek horse race industry, the creation of an attractive betting product, as well as the provision of a unique experience to the visitors of the racecourse in Markopoulo. This is a long-term plan that seeks to lay a solid and solid foundation for Greek horse racing and the horse racing community. The CEO of OPAP and President of Horse Racing SA, Damian Cope, presenting the company's vision for Greek horse racing pointed out: "Our long-term vision is to turn horse racing into one of the top entertainment experiences in Greece. OPAP remains fully committed to horse racing through significant investments, which since 2016 exceed 84 million euros. Despite the challenges, such as the reduction of the equestrian population, the limited base of owners and players of horse racing, we have before us a historic opportunity to re-establish the horse racing industry, in good cooperation with the entire horse racing community. "The next day of horse racing requires hard work, but I am optimistic that we will achieve our goals."

The First Vice President of OPAP and Ippodromies SA, Spyros Fokas, referred to the new institutional framework that governs Greek horse racing and stressed: ), form an institutional environment that meets international standards and responds to constant requests from the racing community. Specifically, a healthier economic and functional environment is created, as well as new possibilities for the development of the racecourse facilities. At the same time, a fair and cooperative environment is promoted for the supervision of horse racing activity as a result of the reform of the operating framework of the FEE. Transparency and consensus, better conditions are created for the sustainability and future development of the racecourse product. ” in Markopoulo, which will be renamed MarkopouloPark, as well as for the promotion of horse racing. As he pointed out, "the central point of our actions is the multi-level utilization of the racecourse facilities. These include the organization of Greek horse races on Sunday, so that they can be included in the wider sports program of the day and the development of a complete day experience for the whole family (family day) with activities for both children and adults. In fact, in the most important games, such as the Greek Derby, there will be special programs with rich entertainment activities. Also, there will be special events and actions for different audiences, such as road events, corporate and social events, concerts, festivals and car races ".

Regarding the promotion of horse racing, Mr. Christoforou referred, among other things, to the formation of special sponsorship packages for large horse races, the further promotion of the institution of horse co-ownership and the increase of member members to more than ten, their live television broadcast advertising. On his part, the General Business Director of Ippodromies SA, Costas Alexopoulos, presented the action plan for the development of Greek horse racing and the benefits created for the members of the racing community. As he characteristically noted, "the integrated development plan is based on international standards, with the aim of restoring stability to the racing community, restoring the climate of trust and development in all areas of horse racing activity. We modernize the distribution of prizes and the ranking of horses in horse races is rewarded in a more proportionate way, we increase the prizes in specific horse races b ???? in both main and simple-, we promote incentives for the Greek horse production and new owners and we create a secondary market for the sale of horses. Regarding the betting product, we are creating a new TV channel "PAME STIHIMA Horse Racing" for the OPAP agencies, we are expanding the product throughout the OPAP network and we are introducing special horse racing betting tickets ".

The meeting was also attended by the new President of the Philip of Greece Association, Aspasia Rallis, who referred to the institutional role of the Hellenic Federation of Hellenes Abroad, pointing out that the Union will be on the side of Hippodrome SA for the development of Greek races, a racing and sustainable racetrack that will benefit all the partners involved and will be worthy of its long history.

The OPAP Group has the exclusive rights for the operation and management of lotteries, sports betting games, mutual horse racing betting, lotteries, instant gambling and slot machines in Greece and holds a leading position in the industry for the integration of the global gambling authority. OPAP was founded in 1958, has the largest distribution network and its acquisition in 2013 by the EmmaDelta Hellenic Holdings Group gave the necessary impetus to ensure the future growth and competitiveness of the company internationally. OPAP's portfolio with the successful and popular commercial games: KINO, PAME STIHIMA, JOKER, LOTTO, PROTO, SCRATCH, PROPO, EXTRA 5, SUPER 3 contributes to the development of the company and is a source of an ever-expanding social contribution. This translates annually into substantial intervention projects with tangible results for society, ensuring OPAP a leading position among the champions of corporate social responsibility in Greece.

More information at www.opap.gr