ITV Confirms New Four Year Horse Racing Agreement

Horse racing fans across the UK will continue to enjoy free-to-air coverage for another four years, with ITV confirming a new broadcast deal running from 2027 through the end of 2030.

Good to Know

• 117 days of live horse racing will be shown annually across ITV1, ITV4, STV, STV Player, and ITVX.
• Flagship events include the Grand National, Royal Ascot, the Cheltenham Festival, and the Betfred Derby.
• ITV Racing has already won two BAFTAs and reached over 15 million streams on ITVX in 2025.

Four More Years of Free Racing

Under the new agreement, ITV Racing will continue showcasing the biggest fixtures in the sport, including five televised races from every meeting aired on ITV4. The Opening Show, ITV’s morning racing programme, will also remain part of the coverage.

Niall Sloane, ITV Director of Sport, said:

“This is a vital deal for ITV Sport and UK horse racing, ensuring the very best fixtures across the UK are available free-to-air on ITV until 2030. We are proud to deliver so much live coverage of this incredible sport and would like to thank Racecourse Media Group, The Jockey Club, Arena Racing Company, Ascot Racecourse and our other partners, and we look forward to continuing our relationship for years to come.”

ITV Racing has played a central role in bringing the sport to mainstream audiences since 2017. Over the years, the broadcaster has won awards for its coverage, while presenters Ed Chamberlin and Francesca Cumani were recognised at the British Sports Journalism Awards in 2019.

The numbers from 2025 alone underline racing’s broad appeal:

• The Grand National peaked at 5.2 million viewers.
• Royal Ascot drew 5 million over its five days, with Saturday’s audience up more than 20% year on year.
• Cheltenham Festival reached its biggest audience in four years, with 1.8 million watching on the final day.
• The Derby hit its best audience in two years, peaking at 1.3 million.

The deal has been warmly welcomed by racing stakeholders, who emphasised the importance of mainstream visibility.

Nick Mills, Racecourse Media Group CEO, said:

“On behalf of our racecourses, we are thrilled to extend our partnership with ITV for a further four years. British horseracing will again receive extensive mainstream terrestrial television coverage across 117 days – an exceptional level of visibility that allows millions of racing fans to watch the best the sport has to offer. I’d like to thank ITV for their award-winning coverage and wholehearted commitment to this wonderful sport.”

Jim Mullen, Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, added:

“The ITV Racing team continue to showcase our sport to racing fans and new audiences with the same passion and rigour they brought to our screens when their contract began back in 2017. We share their enthusiasm for telling the stories behind the stories, and for constantly exploring new and innovative ways to bring horseracing to life and into the homes of millions of people. Racing will benefit greatly from this extension and from the exposure that is guaranteed from 117 days of free to air coverage every year.”

Felicity Barnard, CEO at Ascot Racecourse, said ITV’s “commitment, editorial expertise and production values are second to none,” while David Leyden Dunbar of Arena Racing Company described ITV as a “fantastic shop window” for the sport.

Brant Dunshea, Acting CEO of the British Horseracing Authority, also welcomed the news:

“This is excellent news for British racing. ITV have shown themselves to be first class broadcast partners, not only in terms of the quality of their coverage but in bringing more and more racing to mainstream terrestrial audiences. It is also exciting to consider what the future can hold in terms of working together around innovation in the broadcast experience, with growth in engagement with racing and attracting and retaining our audiences being a core area of focus for the sport’s industry strategy.”