ITV Horse Racing

What ITV Horse Racing Covers

ITV Racing holds the exclusive terrestrial television rights for British horse racing's most prestigious fixtures. The centrepiece of their annual schedule is the Cheltenham Festival in March, where four days of championship National Hunt racing draw peak audiences of over four million viewers. ITV broadcasts every race across all four days, from the Supreme Novices' Hurdle on Tuesday through to the Gold Cup on Friday afternoon.

The Grand National at Aintree in April remains the single most-watched horse race of the year, regularly attracting television audiences of around ten million. ITV's coverage of the three-day Grand National meeting includes all races across Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with the feature race itself typically broadcast in the late afternoon on Saturday. The channel's build-up programme includes paddock analysis, course walks, and interviews with trainers and jockeys.

On the Flat, ITV covers Royal Ascot in its entirety across five days in June, along with the Derby meeting at Epsom, Glorious Goodwood in July, the Ebor Festival at York in August, and Champions Day at Ascot in October. Between these major meetings, ITV typically broadcasts a Saturday afternoon fixture from a leading racecourse, ensuring regular weekend coverage throughout both the Flat and National Hunt seasons.

The ITV Racing Team

The quality of ITV's presentation team is one of the broadcast's strongest assets. Lead presenter Ed Chamberlin brings energy and authority to the coverage, guiding viewers through each race day with a mix of enthusiasm and knowledge that appeals to both regular racing followers and casual viewers tuning in for the big meetings. Francesca Cumani provides expert paddock analysis, assessing each horse's physical condition and demeanour before a race in a way that adds genuine insight for punters watching at home.

Matt Chapman delivers the betting analysis with characteristic passion, highlighting market movers and each-way value in the minutes before each race. Mick Fitzgerald, a former Gold Cup-winning jockey, offers a rider's perspective on race tactics and track conditions. The commentary team of Richard Hoiles and Daryl Carter call the action with precision and excitement, and their race descriptions are widely regarded as among the best in the sport. Together, the team creates a broadcast that is informative enough for serious punters and engaging enough for the once-a-year Grand National audience.

Beyond ITV: Getting More From Your Racing

ITV Racing provides outstanding live coverage, but the broadcast naturally focuses on the races it televises. On any given day, there may be four or five meetings taking place across the UK and Ireland, while ITV typically covers just one. This is where RaceCards.co.uk becomes an essential companion. Our platform provides full racecards for every meeting, every day, with live odds from all major bookmakers updated in real time.

While watching ITV Racing, you can use RaceCards.co.uk to check our AI-powered tips for each race on the card. Our algorithm processes dozens of data points including recent form, course and distance records, going preferences, draw bias, jockey booking patterns, and trainer strike rates. Every selection comes with a confidence rating and expected value calculation, giving you a data-driven edge that complements ITV's expert analysis. You can also follow the action at non-televised meetings through our fast results service, which updates finishing positions within seconds of each race.

Watching ITV Racing on ITVX

One of the biggest advantages of ITV Racing is that all coverage is completely free to watch. The ITVX streaming platform, which replaced the ITV Hub, allows viewers to watch live racing on any device with an internet connection. There is no subscription fee and no paywall. You simply need to create a free ITVX account to access the live stream. This makes ITV by far the most accessible way to watch top-quality horse racing in the UK, particularly for people who do not have satellite or cable television packages.

The ITVX app is available on iOS, Android, smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and through web browsers. The stream quality is reliable, and the coverage includes all of the pre-race analysis, paddock shots, and post-race interviews that viewers see on the main ITV channel. For race days when you are on the move, combining the ITVX app with the RaceCards.co.uk mobile site gives you television-quality coverage alongside detailed racecards, live odds, and instant tips on your phone. Our betting calculator is also mobile-optimised, so you can quickly work out potential returns on each-way bets and Lucky 15s while watching the racing.

The ITV Racing Calendar

ITV's racing schedule follows the natural rhythm of the sport. The National Hunt season dominates the winter months, with Saturday afternoon coverage from tracks such as Cheltenham, Sandown, Ascot, and Newbury before the season reaches its climax at the Cheltenham Festival and Grand National. The Flat season runs from spring through to autumn, with Royal Ascot, the Derby, Goodwood, York's Ebor meeting, and Champions Day providing the headline fixtures. Between these marquee events, ITV selects its Saturday coverage from the best available meeting, ensuring a consistent diet of competitive racing throughout the year. For the meetings ITV does not cover, RaceCards.co.uk provides the same depth of racecards, tips, and results so you never miss a runner.

Frequently Asked Questions