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Cape Town - After a sponsorship of 39 years the local distributor of J&B whiskey has announced that it will no longer continue its sponsorship of the J&B Met in Cape Town.
Diageo SA, formally known as brandhouse, is the local distributor of J&B whiskey and said in a statement on Friday that the J&B brand has invested significant resources to ensure the staging of "this prestigious horseracing event".
In the view of Diageo the J&B Met has, over time, grown to become one of South Africa’s "grandest social occasions" and the country’s longest-standing sports sponsorship.
The 2016 J&B Met was the completion of a three year contract commitment to the event. In reviewing its strategy for the J&B brand, Diageo SA has made the decision to end the partnership and allocate resources to other brand initiatives.
"This has not been an easy decision but we feel that this is right for the brand," said Jeff Milliken, managing director of Diageo SA.
The first Metropolitan mile was run in 1883, with J&B assuming sponsorship in 1977 when the event came to be known as the J&B Met. Since the first J&B Met, the event has attracted South Africans from all walks of life who come together to celebrate fashion, music, food and horseracing.
