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Horse racing occupies a significant but separate part of sports gambling provision. The historical importance of horse breeding as well as employment effects have been used to justify the necessity of betting revenue in the horse sector. In the Nordic countries, these arguments are used to organise horse racing separately from other sports betting. In this context, horse racing, and particularly trotting, remains a lucrative sector for horse owners and producers of racing. The current study focuses on the production chains and financial interests behind horse racing in the Nordic countries. We use financial statements and annual reporting of Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish horse betting companies to determine who benefits financially from racing, what kind of production-related interests are involved and whether horse racing produces surplus to societies or merely maintains its own function. The results are discussed in light of the intertwined organisation of horse racing in the Nordics and the role of horses and animal welfare in the production of racing.

This chapter examines the importance of stakeholder relationships to merger and acquisition (M&A) processes, using a case study of the AUD11 billion mega-merger in 2017 between Australian gaming groups Tabcorp and Tatts. The case study approach is adopted to consider the relevance of stakeholder management to the merger process from deal announcement to completion using documentary and semi-structured interview data. It is found that by managing critical stakeholder relationships through anticipating, pre-empting and negotiating potentially deal-breaking stakeholder conflicts, the merging parties ultimately won support for the deal from nearly all key stakeholders, thus ensuring its completion. The merger process both affected stakeholders and was in no small part affected by various stakeholder groups.

The chapter argues the need for a dynamic and dialectic understanding of how M&A processes relate to stakeholders. It offers deeper insight into how stakeholder theory can be used to enrich understanding of the broader economic, social and political implications of M&A, which enables researchers and practitioners to understand M&A outcomes for all stakeholders. The findings expand on the benefits of stakeholder analysis in relation to how stakeholders both affect and are affected by M&A processes, challenging the view that stakeholder relationships are unidirectional, static, or linear but evolve in complex patterns and along interconnected dimensions between and among stakeholder groups. This approach facilitates historical analysis, forward assessment, future planning and proactive responding, both for academics in devising theories and explanations, and for practitioners in considering, designing and implementing M&A strategies.

This paper expands upon existing sports sponsorship 'match-up' research by offering an interview-driven, empirically-grounded, 'thick' description of the decision-making processes of sports organisations in developing athlete-sponsor-team relationships. By focusing on a particular NASCAR (The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) organisation (BAM Racing), the study offers an in-depth interpretation of the sometimes 'messy' methods employed by executives in grafting an effective, synergistic match-up. The paper concludes with a discussion on the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

This study traces the growth of Dragon Boat racing from humble beginnings in 1976 as part of a local tourism strategy by the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA) to position Hong Kong as more distinctive than a destination for shopping or with British colonial history appeal. Dragon Boat racing is now a recognized world sport requiring a global strategy of co-operative alliances and is close to becoming an official sport in the Olympic Games. Emergent strategy and symbolic authenticity of intangible cultural heritage are key concerns for integrating special events as a central tourism experience.

This chapter presents three trends emerging from a review of the literature: concern with balancing authenticity and profit-chasing; the phenomenal fast growth of the sport and the challenge to develop and maintain international control and governance; and seeking evidence of health and well-being benefits of Dragon Boat racing for breast cancer survivors.

Survivors and élite athletes represent a symbolic authenticity connected to ancient Chinese intangible cultural heritage. Chasing profits by including cultural heritage as part of a particular tourism strategy has strengthened and protected the legacy of that heritage in unexpected ways. There are lessons for those charged with designing quality events and tourism experiences linked with intangible culture.

Based on literature review only, but sets a framework for research in several directions.

Demonstrates the blurring of boundaries between tourism, events and sports, and how managers must be adept to shift strategy according to changing unexpected dynamics of threats and opportunities, yet still can adhere to symbolic authenticity to maintain integrity of intangible cultural heritage as a tourism experience.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the findings and outcomes from research undertaken in 2016 on diversity in British horse racing. The last decade has seen increasing focus on improving gender balance in senior roles in most sectors. Motivation for change within horse racing came from women at a senior level, who identified that the industry was behind in this respect. This work offers a case study to consider, with a business case context, whether an initiative, driven from the top, can open up a conversation about inequality and precipitate change that benefits women across a whole sector.

This research took an action research approach using a survey alongside key stakeholder interviews.

The findings showed a diverse industry with complex career paths. Growing numbers of women have entered the sector, though this was often not reflected in women's seniority or in perceptions about their capabilities. Issues identified included the importance of mentoring, networking and career advice for women's progression, which are needed to navigate myriad career paths and male-dominated structures. The paper argues that investigating equality issues from a perspective of those in leadership roles can lead to pragmatic initiatives supporting women at all levels.

The originality of this paper is that it focuses on work which, for the first time, explored women's career participation in the horse racing industry. It challenges existing critiques of using a business case to promote gender equality.

The purpose of this article is to explore the corporate brand‐web associated with the TOYOTA F1 Racing Team in order to exemplify existing theoretical discussions of the brand‐web concept and contribute to insights towards developing understanding of the structure of the corporate brand‐web and brand relationships.

A case study analysis of the TOYOTA F1 Racing Team, focusing on brand relationships associated with different levels of sponsorship is presented. The case study analysis is based on desk research.

The corporate brand‐web of the TOYOTA F1 Racing Team is presented. This portfolio of corporate brands and their relationships can be regarded as a corporate brand meta‐architecture. The study also offers taxonomy of different types of sponsorship‐based brand relationships, and identifies and discusses two key aspects of the relationships between brands, title sponsorship, and network relationships between the corporate brands in the brand‐web.

This article contributes to understanding of the corporate brand‐web and brand relationships in the sponsorship context and demonstrates the complexity of multiple brand relationships, and the need for researchers and practitioners to understand and manage their corporate brand architecture.

NASCAR (The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) has instituted an aggressive growth campaign. NASCAR's compelling challenge is to retain its core fan base - south-eastern US consumers - while also attracting a new upscale demographic and an international following. One targeted initiative was a three-year commitment to feature the NASCAR Busch Series at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, near Mexico City. This paper explores the assimilation of NASCAR's core product into a Hispanic subculture, observes the media's depiction of the expansion, and discusses the US fan reaction to racing in Mexico.

This paper explains how the location of motorsports events is an integral part of the marketing of the sport of motor racing and of all its attendant commercial interests. Case studies of the major motorsports events staged in public street circuits in Australia are used to illustrate how the locations have particular symbolic significance that adds legitimacy to the sport of motor racing, and the messages and impacts associated with these events. The paper examines the wider significance of allowing special public spaces in cities to be used for motorsports events, and contends that the marketing of sporting events should not be considered independently of the major challenges facing the world.

The purpose of this paper is to explore twentieth century sportscapes and their role in the development of urban arenas as places of sport.

Utilizing frame theory and sport business history scholarship, the author examines entrepreneurs' development of six‐day bicycle races at Madison Square Garden. The main primary sources include autobiographies, morgue files, and newspapers.

In this paper, it is argued that entrepreneurs' shaping and marketing of six‐day races and their sportscapes resulted in a popular sporting spectacle and helped to promote arenas as spaces and places of sport.

The paper demonstrates the process and development of “frame management” in urban arenas and their transition to spaces and places of sport. By exploring six‐day bicycle races at Madison Square Garden, the paper shows the importance of a now‐forgotten cultural event to the development of the multi‐billion dollar sport industry and to one of the world's most iconic arenas. The paper adds to scholarship on bicycle racing and marketing history, as well as the historiography of the sport industry.

GREAT things had been expected of the American National Air Races this year, with many new racing machines to the fore. The Hughes high‐wing monoplane, equipped with a 1,000 h.p. twin‐row Wasp engine and built at a cost of $120,000 in Los Angeles, California, was expected, from wind tunnel tests, to achieve a speed of 367 miles per hour, but, unfortunately, was completed too late for participation in the races. Actually, the competing aeroplanes and the pilots were in the end the same that had gained prominence in former years. The records established by J. Doolittle in 1932—a landplane speed record of 294·38 miles per hour and an average of 252·686 miles per hour in the closed circuit Thompson Trophy race, secured in a Gee Bee Sportster—were not even approached, as can be seen from Table I. The difficulty in aeroplane racing in the United States lies in the fact that the well‐established manufacturers do not regard it as worth their while to participate. Racing machines are built by small adventurous groups of pilots and individualistic constructors, and these groups in the lean depression years have generally found it difficult to secure financial backers.