ITV has announced a new three-year deal to show exclusive, free to air coverage of UK horse racing until the end of 2026. 

Well over 100 days of live coverage will be shown across ITV1 and ITV4 each year – all simulcast on ITVX – along with morning racing programme The Opening Show. 

The deal encompasses UK racing’s Crown Jewel events with the Grand National, the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot and the Derby all featuring.  

Niall Sloane, ITV Director of Sport, said: “This deal will take us to a decade of racing on ITV and we’re delighted to be able to continue to bring to viewers well over 100 days of live coverage of this wonderful sport, including some of the most enjoyable, storied and thrilling events of each year.  We look forward to continuing to work with Racecourse Media Group and our other partners within racing to bring audiences the very best racing has to offer in the coming years.” 

Announced at the start of the Cheltenham Festival 2023, the new contract extends ITV’s current racing coverage, which began in 2017 and has seen viewing increase across the board. 

Martin Stevenson, CEO of Racecourse Media Group, added: “On behalf of our racecourses, we are delighted to have cemented our relationship with ITV for a further three years. ITV have been an excellent partner for the sport, providing more terrestrial coverage here in the UK than in any other racing jurisdiction in the world, illustrating both the commitment of the broadcaster and the enduring popularity of the sport.”

Nevin Truesdale, The Jockey Club’s Chief Executive, concluded: “We at The Jockey Club love working with the ITV Racing team to showcase the sport, our racecourses, the horses and the people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to tell their stories in an entertaining, fun and engaging way. We’re really looking forward to continuing to do that and finding new ways to collaborate in the future.”

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