C4 Racing announces innovations for Cheltenham Festival

9 March 2015

• 22 hours of horseracing
• Ruby Walsh to wear camera for daily Morning Line gallops
• Starter camera to be worn for all Channel 4 races
• Presented by Clare Balding and Nick Luck alongside the dedicated racing team

 The much anticipated Channel 4 Racing: Cheltenham Festival coverage starts daily from March 10th – 13th and incorporates some 22 hours of live championship action. 

For the first time ever, Ruby Walsh - Ireland’s reigning champion jockey - will join the Morning Line team to provide viewers with an invaluable insight into his daily rides.  From Tuesday to Thursday, Ruby will exercise his Festival mounts live on-course wearing a gilet camera and microphone to capture the early morning pipe-openers on some of Ireland’s most exciting contenders.

Nick Luck, Alice Plunkett and Rishi Persad will co-host the Morning Line for the Festival alongside regular Channel 4 Racing pundits, plus an array of daily guests that include Bryan Cooper, Barry Geraghty, Richard Johnson and Paul Nicholls.

Ted Walsh and Tom Segal rejoin the breakfast team for the week with Mattie Batchelor reporting from the stables.  The Morning Line live at 8am will be packed with features, racing news and daily tips to provide viewers with crucial pointers for the day ahead. 

Clare Balding and Nick Luck will present Channel 4’s high definition Festival coverage which begins at 12:35 – 4:20pm with a daily delivery of five championship races.  Reporters Alice Plunkett, Rishi Persad and Mick Fitzgerald will compliment a top punditry team that includes Jim McGrath, Graham Cunningham and the formidable Ted Walsh.  Brian Gleeson will also be on hand to provide the latest news on the Irish challengers alongside betting expert Tanya Stevenson, with Simon Holt calling home the winners for his fifteenth consecutive year.  Once again, Alastair Down will deliver daily essay-style preview packages.

An array of racing features will be shown across the afternoons with an exclusive four-part Paul Nicholls series leading the field and a daily review of AP McCoy’s Festival winners from the past.  This is all complemented by further features on jockey Davy Russell, newly licensed trainer Sandra Hughes and the re-emergence of Oliver Sherwood to provide viewers with a wealth of racing knowledge.

Another first sees The British Horseracing Authority starters donning gilet cameras for all Channel 4 broadcast contests.

Throughout the week, Channel 4 will broadcast four 45-minutes Evening Highlights programmes showcasing the day’s finest action. 

Ed Havard, Channel 4’s Head of Live Events and Sport, says: “We have an outstanding period of sport coming up on Channel 4 with over 22 hours of terrestrial exposure.  The combination of technological innovation and insight from top names in the sport joining our coverage for the first time will give

viewers a unique new perspective on the Festival.”

“Once again, IMG and our racing presenters relish the challenges of Cheltenham and we look forward to delivering creative and informative programming.”

Channel 4 online will complement the four-day spectacle with multi-media live text commentary throughout the Festival with strong social media activities.

Come Saturday, 14th March the Channel 4 Racing team will review the UK’s finest jump racing Festival on The Morning Line at 8am followed by afternoon racing that takes in six races from Uttoxeter and Kempton Park Racecourses including the second longest race in UK history – the Midlands Grand National run over four miles plus.