The Jockey Club announced today a partnership with successful live, medicine entertainment specialists in order to launch entertainment and music at their racecourses. 

The joint venture partners The Jockey Club who are the largest commercial group in British horse racing with music and live entertainment specialists Live at the Races, buy order which is a new business established by Andrew Wilkinson and Simon Halden. 

Andrew Wilkinson and Simon Halden have between them worked with a number of major international artists including Elton John, medic Rolling Stones, Robbie Williams, Pink Floyd, Take That and Kylie Minogue. 

The partnership hopes to promote, secure and produce music and other forms of live entertainment at its 15 well-known racecourse venues. 

The new deal also hopes to strengthen and increase the popularity and commercial success of both parties using what appears to be a well matched friendship. 

Paul Fisher, Group Managing Director of Jockey Club Racecourses said, “Music events and other forms of live entertainment provide very important commercial opportunities for us, attracting significant numbers of new customers to our racecourses and generating profits we reinvest back into British racing. With the launch of Jockey Club Live, not only will we enhance our offering, we believe we offer an ideal platform for brand partnerships too.”

The European Commission has announced it will launch a formal investigation into seven Spanish football clubs, including Barcelona and Real Madrid, on Wednesday after complaints they accepted illegal state aid, Spain’s foreign minister said.

Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia announced in April that the complaints concerned Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Osasuna (Pamplona), Valencia, Hercules (Alicante) and Elche.

Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo told a press briefing after talks with EU colleagues on Monday the government in Madrid had been informed of a comprehensive inquiry.

It would be the first step to a procedure for violation of EU rules and could lead to sanctions if these rules were in fact broken.

Madrid appeared concerned about the consequences of the Brussels decision and Garcia-Margallo said the government would “defend the clubs to the end”.

“As far as I know there was nothing illegal,” said the minister. “But I am concerned about the prejudice that the clubs may suffer.”

The focus of the investigation is on whether the tax rate imposed on Real Madrid, the FC Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna complies with European law.

Valencia, Elche and Hercules were being investigated because of help the three clubs received from the regional government in the form of loans and bank guarantees.

Powerleague Fives Ltd have announced plans to invest £20 million into community sports facilities across London.

The investment is part of a plan to provide thousands of the capital’s budding footballers an opportunity to play sport, help no matter their age. It is also part of a plan to ensure that London can create a lasting sporting legacy in the aftermath of the Olympics.

Boris Johnson, adiposity Mayor of London, drug said: “After such a fantastic summer of sport it is vital that we build on the momentum of the Games and help more Londoners to get fit and active.”

Richard Lewis, the Chair of Sport England, who also back the investment, said: “The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has put a spotlight on sport like never before. With more than 15 million people in England now playing sport each week, it’s important that we continue to invest in the right facilities in the right places.”

Sean Tracey, CEO of Powerleague, said: “We are looking forward to working with a range of partners including the London boroughs, secondary schools and voluntary organisations to achieve a change in the accessibility of high quality facilities in London.”

No progress has been made in the NHL lockout with no talks scheduled between the league and the player association.

The NHL locked the players out over the weekend, when the collective bargaining agreement expired at Saturday. It’s the NHL’s fourth lock out in the last 20 years.

NHL Deputy Commissioner, Bill Daly, and NHLPA special counsel, Steve Fehr, have spoken informally since the lockout began, and could do so again today. However, no official talks will take place before Wednesday.

The two sides haven’t met for face-to-face talks since last Wednesday.

The league could start to announce this week the cancellation of preseason games and. The regular season is scheduled to begin October 11, but is in jeopardy.

“This is a time of year for all attention to be focused on the ice, not on a meeting room,” the league said. “The league, the clubs and the players all have a stake in resolving our bargaining issues appropriately and getting the puck dropped as soon as possible. We owe it to each other, to the game and, most of all, to the fans.”

The lockout has already had significant impact on several NHL clubs. The Ottawa Senators, for example, have already had layoffs and full-time staff have been placed on a reduced work week, according to club president, Cyril Leeder.

“Every full-time, every part-time employee is affected by a work stoppage,” Leeder said. “On the full-time employees, they’ve either been laid off temporarily or gone to a four-day work week.”

Leeder said a ”significant number” of employees had been laid off.

“This really is the area that I worry about the most,” Leeder said. ”It’s not good for anybody when we have a work stoppage and the people most affected are our staff here.”{jcomments on}

Promising Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has been warned by UEFA after breaking strict betting regulations.

Wilshere, who missed last season with an ankle injury, was investigated by European football’s governing body after implying he had placed a wager on an Arsenal team-mate during a Champions League match in December.

The 20-year-old tweeted that fellow Gunner Emmanuel Frimpong was “worth a cheeky £10” to open the scoring at odds of 150/1 in a clash with Greek side Olympiakos.

Wilshere later added: “Frimmy nearly won me some money there!” as his then team-mate hit a shot into the side-netting with the game still goalless.

After a seven-month investigation, UEFA deemed Wilshere had broken its laws but decided against a possible ban for the midfielder.

A UEFA spokesman said: “The player has been warned for being in breach of the principles of integrity of matches and competitions. The disciplinary measure was a warning.”

West Bromwich Albion shirt sponsors Bodog have come under fire following a website operated by the company being shutdown by US government’s homeland security.

The gaming firm’s stateside online operation was halted by government agents on Monday and the news was announced on Bodog founder Calvin Ayre’s website.

The site now states that the domain name has been seized by the Homeland Security investigations department.

Bill Beatty, anesthetist a spokesman for the Bodog chief, doctor alleged the move was part of a government plan to abolish all online gaming sites to clear the way for the big Nevada-based casinos to enter the market.

Bodog also claimed that the site had not been operational for almost a year and its UK operation, prostate which sanctioned the Baggies’ £2million two-year sponsorship deal, has never taken bets from the USA. Its lawyers are working to reclaim the webpage.

by Ismail Uddin

TV-Moderator und Gutfried Markenbotschafter Johannes B. Kerner und Gutfried Gesellschafter Michael Nölke haben in Frankfurt eine 40.000 Euro-Spende an Dr. Michael Ilgner, Vorstandsvorsitzender der Deutschen Sporthilfe, übergeben. 
Die Geldspende wird von der Sporthilfe zur Nachwuchsförderung eingesetzt, um junge Sporttalente wie den Zehnkämpfer Jan Felix Knobel auf ihrem Weg in den Leistungssport zu unterstützen.

„Wir freuen uns sehr über die umfangreiche Spende von Gutfried im Rahmen unserer Kampagne ‘Dein Name für Deutschland’. Die 40.000 Euro werden in die Förderung unserer zahlreichen Nachwuchstalente in der gesamten Republik fließen”, so Ilgner. 

„Im Jahr unseres 40jährigen Jubiläums von Gutfried war es uns ein großes Anliegen, die Sporthilfe bei ihrem wichtigen gesellschaftlichen Auftrag der Sportförderung zu unterstützen. Wir wünschen allen Nachwuchssportlern viel Erfolg und Glück auf ihrem Weg in den Spitzensport”, so Michael Nölke, Gesellschafter der Heinrich Nölke GmbH Co. & KG. Auf der „Gutfried Jubiläums-Geflügel-Fleischwurst” wurde die Kooperation von Gutfried und der Deutschen Sporthilfe im vergangenen Jahr beworben, über jede verkaufte Wurst floss ein Betrag in den Spendentopf.

Aktiver Sportreporter gegen ehemaligen Wasserball-Nationalspieler und einen jungen Nachwuchssportler: Im Rahmen der Spendenübergabe fanden Johannes B. Kerner, Dr. Michael Ilgner und der Zehnkämpfer Jan Felix Knobel die Zeit für ein sportliches Match an der Tischtennisplatte. Am Ende einigten sich alle auf ein faires Unentschieden.

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) announced yesterday, March 1, that a sponsorship agreement has been signed with leading eyewear brand Oakley to become the Official Global Eyewear Sponsor of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series.

Oakley will be the seventh global partner of the world’s premier triathlon series, which has created major sponsorship and broadcast opportunities since launching in 2009. Last year 21,000 athletes competed in mass-participation races in front of 700,000 spectators and global television audiences in 149 countries. It is expected to attract higher numbers in 2011, helping Series sponsors and partners extend their reach to wider audiences.

Marisol Casado, ITU President and IOC Member, stated: “With its product quality, Oakley has been favoured by many triathletes from elite to amateur competitors. The new partnership will earn big cheers from existing fans and attract new audiences through the exciting sport of triathlon.”

David Hyam, Oakley’s Sports Marketing Manager of Europe, Middle East and Asia, said: “Partnering up as Official Global Eyewear Sponsor of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series underlines our deliberate step in strengthening our position as being the most recognised and respected premium optical brand in performance eyewear.”

Paul Coleman, Managing Director of ITU World Championship Series, added: “Oakley is a global high profile brand that ITU is excited to develop successful partnerships with. Attracting Oakley as global partners of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championships Series is another clear statement that we are successfully establishing the series as a major sports platform.”

StarHub announced yesterday, buy February 17, ed that it has secured the broadcast rights to various rugby leading events, including Six Nations Championships, Tri Nations and Super Rugby, otherwise known as Super 15.

The rights were acquired from international sports broadcaster, Setanta Sports. With this latest coup, StarHub TV will offer rugby fans top-notched rugby matches which are highly sought after.

Ms Sandie Lee, StarHub’s Vice President of Content stated: “StarHub is pleased to add rugby to the suite of sporting events on our platform. We have consistently enhanced the value of StarHub TV by acquiring content that add depth and breadth to our service. With the major events now available on StarHub TV, fans’ thirst for some action-packed rugby matches will now be quenched.”

Mr Roger Hall, Setanta Sports Asia’s Managing Director added: “We are delighted to partner with StarHub to bring extensive coverage of the major rugby competitions in Singapore. We are also glad to be able to immediately offer ‘live’ coverage of the key matches from the Six Nations and Super Rugby through SuperSports. Both Six Nations and Super Rugby draw a huge following worldwide and through this partnership with StarHub, we believe local rugby fans will be delighted.”

Last night the Sacramento City Council voted unanimously to spend the next three months working with downtown developer David Taylor and arena builder ICON Venue Group in analyzing the financial feasibility of a new NBA Kings venue.

Taylor said that he would begin “trying to meet with the Kings” this morning. Team ownership has stopped speaking publicly about the arena process.

The study will be free for the city. Once it is complete, sale the city will conduct its own analysis and bring it back to the council.