At the Races
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television channel
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...
, originally co-founded with Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, but now owned by a partnership between British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
, Arena Leisure Plc and 30 (out of the 60) UK racecourses.
The station is focused on horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
from the UK, Ireland, North America, France and (overnight) Australia, showing many live races and related shows. The station is a commercial station, running advert breaks, and is "affiliated" with various betting companies, since the channel's live picture feed is used by betting shops and gamblers are generally its main audience.
The channel was partly revamped in June 2006.
Aside from having reporters on course, the channel runs from a main studio, and a production area called 'The Booth'. Different presenters are often frequently found in one area only. Before live racing starts, guests are often interviewed, viewer e-mails read, and banter exchanged from the studios.
Channel launch
At the Races was originally a venture between BSkyB, Channel 4 and Arena Leisure who owned six racecourses at the time. In 2001, they agreed to pay £307 million for a 10 year deal to broadcast coverage from 49 of the 59 UK courses - the remaining 10 courses were contracted to The Racing ChannelThe Racing Channel
The Racing Channel was a British subscription television channel which used to extensively cover horse racing. It ran between 1995 and its closure in January 2003....
, which subsequently folded as a result of lost revenue in 2003.
By 2004, the deal was looking severely overpriced and At The Races served a 60-day termination notice on the Racecourse Association (RCA). Channel 4 exited the joint-venture and the courses were left to re-negotiate television deals. This led to a joint-venture from the courses themselves, 31 of which subsequently contract their coverage to Racing UK
Racing UK
Racing UK Limited was launched as a subscription channel in 2004 with 30 racecourses as shareholders. As Racing UK grew several other business units and joint ventures were developed....
(which in turn sub-contracts terrestrial rights to Channel 4 and the BBC), which launched later in 2004.
At the Races virtually vanished from screens on 29 March 2004, but continued to broadcast a few meetings from the United States in the evenings and following the re-negotiation of contracts, the existing At the Races channel re-launched on 11 June 2004.
Programming
- Morning Update (Mondays to Saturdays only)
- Racing Review
- The Sunday Forum
- Racing News
- Get On!
- Monday Review (Mondays only)
- World of Racing (Tuesdays only)
- The Form Factor (Wednesdays only)
- The Irish Angle (Thursdays only)
- The Friday Focus (Fridays only)
- Racing Live
- Evening Racing
- On the Line (Sundays only)
- At The Races Stateside
- Australian Racing
Presenters
- Robert 'Sir Bob' Cooper - Studio/on course presenter
- Sean 'Boycie' Boyce - Studio/Booth presenter
- Matt Chapman - Studio/Booth presenter (and main host of 'On the Line' and 'The Sunday Forum').
- Darrell Williams - Studio/Booth presenter
- Tony 'Enzo' Ennis - Studio/Booth presenter and commentator
- Luke Harvey - Jump racing reporter (also contributes to BBC Radio 5Live)
- John Hunt - Studio presenter (also BBC Radio 5Live commentator)
- Steve Millar - Booth presenter (Stateside)
- Richard Pitman - Jump racing reporter (and occasional BBC pundit)
- Simon Mapletoft - Flat racing reporter
- Jason Weaver - Flat racing reporter and occasional booth presenter
- Mike Cattermole - Studio presenter and occasional on course presenter (also a presenter/commentator for Channel 4 Racing)
- Zoey Bird - Jump/Flat racing reporter
- Alex HammondAlex HammondAlex Hammond is a British television presenter, reporter and horse racing expert, working currently for Sky Sports News and At the Races.-Media career:...
- Jump/Flat racing reporter (also a presenter on Sky Sports News)
- Derek 'Tommo' ThompsonDerek Thompson (sports commentator)Derek Paul Thompson is a presenter and commentator of horse racing on Channel 4 in Britain.-Biography:...
- Jump/Flat racing reporter (also a presenter/commentator for Channel 4 Racing) - Gordon Brown - Scotland & Northern racing correspondent
- Gareth "The Voice" O'Brien - Ireland correspondent
- David " The Machine" Duggan - Irish racing reporter
- John McCririckJohn McCririckJohn McCririck is an English television horse racing pundit. He is notable not only for his racing opinions but also for his old-fashioned style of dress and mannerisms...
- Betting pundit (usually appears alongside reporter at the racecourse; also pundit for Channel 4 Racing) - Jim McGrathJim McGrath (Australian commentator)Jim Aloysius McGrath is the BBC's senior horse racing commentator. He was previously deputy race commentator, and sometimes a paddock commentator.-Career:...
- Reporter (also the BBC's main commentator) - Mick Fitzgerald - Jump racing reporter (also a BBC pundit)
- Gina Bryce - Studio presenter and occasional racing reporter
Courses
The partner racecourses are:- AscotAscot RacecourseAscot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...
- BathBath RacecourseBath Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Bath, Somerset.The racecourse is a left-handed oval track of 1 mile 4 furlongs and 25 yards, with a run-in of nearly half-a-mile....
- BrightonBrighton RacecourseBrighton Racecourse is a horse racing course at Brighton, East Sussex in England, for flat races of up to about one and a half miles. The course is one of three courses in Britain which is not a circuit and forms a figure like three sides of a square, sloping, with wide left-hand turns and an...
- ChepstowChepstow RacecourseChepstow Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located just outside the town of Chepstow in Monmouthshire, Wales, near the southern end of the Wye Valley which forms the border with England...
- DoncasterDoncaster RacecourseDoncaster Racecourse is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 31 Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy.- History :...
- ExeterExeter RacecourseExeter Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located near the city of Exeter, Devon, England. Locally it is known as Haldon racecourse because of its location on top of the Haldon Hills...
- FakenhamFakenham RacecourseFakenham Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Fakenham, Norfolk, England.The course is left-handed, almost square in shape, with a circumference of about a mile. The steeplechase course is situated to the outside of the hurdle course and consists of six fences per circuit,...
- Ffos LasFfos Las racecourseThe Ffos Las racecourse is a horse racing, equestrian sports and conferencing venue situated just off the B4317 road, opposite the Glyn Abbey Golf Club, in a rural area called Ffos Las between Trimsaran and Carway and is about north of Llanelli...
- FolkestoneFolkestone Racecourse- External links :***...
- FontwellFontwell Park RacecourseFontwell Park Racecourse is a horse racing course located in the village of Fontwell in West Sussex, England. It features a figure-of-eight chase course and an oval hurdles course....
- Great YarmouthGreat Yarmouth RacecourseGreat Yarmouth Racecourse, also known simply as Yarmouth Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.The racecourse is a narrow, oblong track, 1 mile 5 furlongs in circumference.- External links :***...
- HerefordHereford RacecourseHereford Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Hereford, Herefordshire.The course is almost square in shape with a circuit of about a mile-and-a-half. Opened in 1771 the course was greatly modernised in the 1960s, with also in 1966 a photo-finish camera being...
- HexhamHexham RacecourseHexham Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing track located in Hexham, Northumberland, England.Situated 800 feet above sea level at High Yarridge, just south of the town, the course is a left-handed circuit of about one and a half miles with a short uphill climb on the approach to the finishing...
- KelsoKelso RacecourseKelso Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Kelso, Scotland. The official website describes the course as Britain's Friendliest Racecourse. In 2007, it was voted the Best Small Course in Scotland and the North of England.-History:...
- LeicesterLeicester RacecourseLeicester Racecourse is a horse-racing course in Oadby, Leicestershire, England.The course is oval shaped and nearly 2 miles in extent. It was opened ante 1773....
- Lingfield Park
- NewcastleNewcastle RacecourseNewcastle Racecourse is a horse racing course located at Gosforth Park near Newcastle upon Tyne in England. It stages both flat and National Hunt racing, with its biggest meeting being the Northumberland Plate held annually in June.-History:...
- Newton AbbotNewton Abbot RacecourseNewton Abbot Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located on the north bank of the River Teign in the parishes of Kingsteignton and Teigngrace just north of Newton Abbot Devon, England. The course is a tight flat left-handed oval of about 1m1f...
- PerthPerth RacecoursePerth Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue adjacent to the ancient Scone Palace, near Perth, Scotland.Perth racecourse opened in 1908 and is the northernmost track in Britain....
- PlumptonPlumpton RacecoursePlumpton Racecourse is a National Hunt horse-racing course at the village of Plumpton, East Sussex near Lewes and Brighton.One of the smaller National Hunt race courses in Britain, it is rather hilly, a tightish left-handed circuit of just over a mile...
- RiponRipon RacecourseRipon Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. It has been used for horse racing for more than 300 years and is nicknamed the Garden Racecourse. The course is a right-handed oval of approximately 1m5f with a 5f finishing straight and a 6f chute...
- SedgefieldSedgefield RacecourseSedgefield Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Sedgefield, County Durham, England. The course is undulating, left-handed and about ten furlongs in circumference. The steeplechase course consists of eight fences per circuit, with the open ditch the penultimate obstacle...
- SouthwellSouthwell RacecourseSouthwell Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located near Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England. It is one of only five racecourses in the UK to have an all-weather track...
- StratfordStratford-on-Avon RacecourseStratford-on-Avon Racecourse, also known as simply Stratford Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England.-External links:***...
- TauntonTaunton RacecourseTaunton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Orchard Portman, two miles south of Taunton, Somerset, England. Opened in 1927, Taunton is the youngest National Hunt course in England, and the last racecourse to be opened in Britain until Great Leighs in 2008.-History:Horse...
- Towcester
- UttoxeterUttoxeter RacecourseUttoxeter Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse in the town of Uttoxeter, in Staffordshire, England.Uttoxeter is a left-handed oval shaped course of one mile two and a half furlongs in circumference....
- WindsorWindsor RacecourseWindsor Racecourse, also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the United Kingdom, the other being at Fontwell Park. It abandoned National Hunt jump racing in December 1998,...
- WolverhamptonWolverhampton RacecourseWolverhampton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. The track was the first to be floodlit in Britain and often holds meetings in the evening....
- WorcesterWorcester RacecourseWorcester Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in the city of Worcester, Worcestershire, England.The course is laid out as an oval circuit of about 13 furlongs in length and situated by the south side of the River Severn....