With the prestigious Royal Ascot meet set to take place on June 20th-24th, excitement is building among fans worldwide.
This year’s event will mark a monumental moment in horse racing history as it serves as the final appearance of iconic jockey Frankie Dettori.
The broadcast rights for the event have been handled by HBA Media, with ITV Racing acting as host broadcaster.
Daily five-hour programmes will air on from Tuesday 20 June to Saturday 24 June of race week across UK and Ireland via ITV Racing, Sky Sports Racing and Virgin Media.
There will be a full 35-race card available for international broadcasters on ITV's world feed, as well as a special Golden Hour on Gold Cup Day (Thursday, 22 June).
Henry Birtles, CEO at HBA media, gave his thoughts on the deal:
“We are immensely proud to work with the Ascot team on the distribution of the Royal Meeting. Our strong working relationship has helped deliver an audience befitting this most prestigious of events - Ascot’s commission of Frankie Dettori: A Royal Ascot Love Affair is a superb example of the outstanding promotional content we can offer our broadcast partners.
“Every year, all the eyes of the horse racing, lifestyle and news worlds will be upon Royal Ascot and HBA Media looks forward to delivering top quality coverage to our partners and fans around the world.”
Felicity Barnard, Commercial Director at Ascot Racecourse, added:
“We are thrilled that Royal Ascot will once again be broadcast across the world, including some exciting new media outlets for the first time. With international representation on the track 0expected from four different continents it is vitally important that we are reaching a truly global audience which we will deliver in partnership with HBA.
“Outside of the live action, it is exciting to be able to tell the story of one of the greatest jockeys the sport has ever seen through the prism of Royal Ascot. Frankie Dettori: A Royal Ascot Love Affair beautifully captures some of the highs and lows of Frankie’s magnificent career and we hope that racing fans new and old will enjoy it.”
Sky Sports to air special documentary for Frankie Dettori
As a special tribute to Frankie Dettori's accomplishments leading up to his retirement from horse riding so close to the end of last month's Prix Diane Longines, Sky Sports Racing will be airing a 25-minute special ahead of the race.
The show will take viewers through Dettori's love affair with Royal Ascot and his ups and downs throughout his career. His passion for the sport from start to finish with insight into his winning streaks, as well as the setbacks that have accompanied them along the way.
With historic moments such as these surrounding equestrian sports, it comes as no surprise that millions of fans around the world are looking forward to tuning in for this year’s event.
The mix of thrilling races alongside commentary from some of horse racing’s most knowledgeable experts will make this an unforgettable experience.
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