Horsepower out of the gate

Lorton Entertainment and Equine Productions have finished production on Horsepower, a five-part behind-the-scenes horse racing documentary.

For Lorton Entertainment this follows up Rooney, which recently debuted on Amazon Prime Video.

Horsepower follows racehorse trainer Andrew Balding and three-time British champion jockey Oisin Murphy for nine months, as they prepare for the biggest event of their season, Royal Ascot. It also features Balding’s wife Anna Lisa, who plays a pivotal role in the business, and his sister, the broadcaster and writer, Clare Balding

Over the nine months, the pair visit Newmarket and Epsom, the Breeders’ Cup in the USA, and the Saudi Cup, as Murphy looks to bounce back from testing positive for cocaine.

Race sequences are brought to life through the use of ‘JockeyCam’, a camera unique to Equine Productions that provides a jockey’s eye view of a race, as well as cinematography that aims to capture the beauty of the sport. 

In addition, Stevan Riley (Fire in Babylon, Listen To Me, Marlon)is on board to executive produce and is creative lead.

Julian Bird, CEO of Lorton Entertainment, said: “Horsepower tells a story that has not been covered in this manner or depth before and in doing so reveals so many fascinating and moving storylines. It will enthral those with an existing interest in racing and intrigue and delight newcomers to the sport. We believe it will appeal to a range of audiences and has the potential to cross over in the manner that both Drive to Survive and The Last Dance have done.

“We are in advanced talks with several potential streaming partners covering both the UK and abroad, with an announcement about where and when people will be able to watch this show to follow soon. Those in the racing community will have read the stories about similar projects in development, which underlines the huge potential in our series. I am delighted that, together with Equine Productions, we greenlit this project back in 2020 and are now ready to air the series.” 

The producers on Horsepower from Equine Productions are Dave James and former PR director of The Jockey Club, John Maxse, who added: “Our thanks to Andrew and Anna Lisa Balding and Oisin Murphy, without them the inside story of the ups and downs they faced along the way would not have been caught on film in the dramatic way it has. With their help, along with the expertise of the team Lorton put together, we were able to achieve what we set out to do, namely show why those involved in the sport have good reason to be so passionate about it.”