Unibet has extended its sponsorship of the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham until 2023.

As part of the significant five-year deal, Unibet is also continuing to back the Unibet Road to Cheltenham – four key races ahead of the £450,000 G1 Unibet Champion Hurdle, which is the highlight of Champion Day at The Festival™ presented by Magners, which next takes place on Tuesday, March 12, 2019.

Unibet is part of the Kindred Group, one of the largest online gambling companies in the world which previously backed the two-mile Champion Hurdle under the Stan James banner before this year’s renewal in March became the first with the Unibet name. Stan James, bought by the Kindred Group in 2015, first sponsored the Champion Hurdle in 2011.

The Unibet Champion Hurdle has been won by outstanding horses since then, including Hurricane Fly, who became the first horse in 38 years to regain the hurdling showpiece when scoring for a second time in 2013.

Faugheen led home a remarkable 1-2-3 for trainer Willie Mullins in 2015, while Annie Power became only the fourth mare to win the hurdling championship when storming to victory in 2016.

The last two renewals of the Unibet Champion Hurdle have been won by Buveur D’Air and the seven-year-old, trained by Unibet ambassador Nicky Henderson, will be aiming to join a select group of great three-time winners – Hatton’s Grace, Sir Ken, Persian War, See You Then and Istabraq – when he defends his crown in March.

Nicky Henderson, who has won the Champion Hurdle a record seven times, said: “I am absolutely thrilled Unibet is continuing sponsorship of the Champion Hurdle, not least because it has brought us a lot of luck since our association with them, and since they have sponsored the race.

“Hopefully, Buveur D’Air can complete the Unibet Champion Hurdle hat-trick to celebrate!”