£250,000 Ladbrokes Trophy the highlight of The Ladbrokes Winter Carnival at Newbury Racecourse

Newbury Racecourse has announced the race names for its Jump season highlight that will be sponsored for the first time this year by Ladbrokes.

The two-day meeting, which takes place on Friday, December 1 and Saturday, December 2 in 2017, will be known as The Ladbrokes Winter Carnival, with both days broadcast live on ITV Racing.

Saturday’s highlight, the race formerly known as the Hennessy Gold Cup, will now become the Ladbrokes Trophy and the Grade 3 contest is worth £250,000 this year, an increase of £50,000 on the 2016 race. The major race on Friday will be the £50,000 Grade 2 Ladbrokes Long Distance Hurdle.

Total prize money across the two days is increased by almost £100,000 to £700,000, with Ladbrokes sponsoring 13 of the 14 races in an initial five-year deal.

The only race not sponsored by Ladbrokes is the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Memorial Handicap Chase on the Saturday, which will continue to be supported by the friends of Sir Peter.