ITV heads to the racecourse for horse racing docuseries

Filming will begin in December for a six-part behind-the-scenes docuseries following UK horse racing for ITV.

Airing on ITV and ITVX and focusing on the 2023/24 Jumps season, the series is being produced by South Shore with support from Flutter and Racecourse Media Group. Other horse racing stakeholders such as the Professional Jockeys’ Association and British Horseracing Authority (BHA) have also lent their support for the project.

The show is expected to air in late summer 2024, and aims to, ”tell the stories of lives, journeys, and adventures – both human and equine – which make horse racing so dramatic and compelling, as well as focus on the high levels of welfare applied to racehorses and jockeys.”

BHA Chief Executive, Julie Harrington, said: “This is an extremely exciting development for the sport. The industry’s strategy is all about reaching new audiences and showing them the brilliance of our sport, while at the same time making racing more interesting and engaging for our current fans. There promises to be a little bit of something for everyone in this new programme. We’re proud of our sport and all it stands for, and anything that brings the passion and excitement of racing and the characters who work in it into people’s homes can only be a good thing.”

Simon Daglish, deputy managing director, commercial, at ITV, said: “Racing drives an enormous amount of passion and excitement among ITV viewers as we know from our unrivalled coverage. This new series is a fantastic chance to build on that excitement and bring this adrenaline filled sport to a new audience. We are delighted to be working with the racing community to showcase racing in a way that has never been seen before.”

Dale Gibson, interim CEO of the PJA said, ’’This is a great result for racing. We’re delighted that it will show off the skills, determination and personalities of some of our outstanding jump jockeys, whilst raising their profiles and helping to promote the sport to a new audience. A win all round.”

Paul Johnson, CEO of the National Trainers Federation said, “This is a simply brilliant initiative for the sport and highlights how fortunate we are to work with such a supportive broadcaster in ITV.  We have no doubt that getting to know some of Racing’s characters and their day-to-day stories will help showcase our sport in a way that we have not seen before.”

Ian Brown, CEO of Flutter UKI: “We are delighted to announce the forthcoming horse racing documentary series in conjunction with ITV, South Shore and RMG. This is an idea we have been championing for some time and we are hugely excited to be bringing the inner story of horse racing, and all the wonderful people who support it to a new and broader audience through a prime time slot on ITV1 and ITVX.

“We have long supported the horse racing industry across both the UK and Ireland and we are committed to working together with all racing stakeholders to support and modernise this unique and enthralling sport through initiatives like this brilliant new series.”

Martin Stevenson, CEO of RMG, said: “We firmly believe that a docuseries like this on a major channel can significantly help grow participation in the sport. We are very grateful to Flutter for its invaluable support in making the series possible and ITV’s wholehearted support. ITV has been a fantastic partner for Racing and this docuseries is further evidence of its commitment to the sport.”

Melanie Leach, joint CEO of South Shore, said: “The dedication, determination and bravery in British horse racing is the stuff of legend – reputations are won and lost in the blink of an eye. We couldn’t be more excited to tell the story of the fight between the heroes and heroines of this incredible sport as they race their way to the winning line.”