Racing League to be shown exclusively on Sky Sports Racing
Monday 2 March 2020 22:15, UK
A new, groundbreaking flat horse-racing initiative – Racing League – was unveiled on Monday that will bring increased levels of innovation, fan engagement and accessibility to British horse racing.
Teams consisting of two to four trainers working together, three jockeys, stable staff and a squad of 30 horses, will battle it out for an unprecedented £1.8m in prize money, as well as an overall prize to the team that wins the Racing League.
Held over six consecutive, action-packed evening race meetings in July and August 2020, the Racing League will be contested at four of the UK's leading racecourses - Doncaster, Lingfield, Newcastle and Royal Windsor, with all 36 races to be shown exclusively live on Sky Sports Racing.
Racing in bespoke team colours, the Racing League's 12 teams will compete across handicap races contested over distances between 5f - 1½m (rated 0-90), each worth £50,000.
The Racing League's inaugural meeting is set to be held on Thursday July 16.
2006 Epsom Derby-winning jockey, Martin Dwyer, commented: "I think the Racing League is a really exciting addition to the British horse racing calendar and I believe the fans will welcome it.
"It's a positive step for the racing industry to take, and the increase in prize money at handicap-level racing can only be good for the sport."
Six-time Royal Ascot-winning trainer, Jamie Osborne, added: "Spectator-wise, horse racing is a sporting giant in the UK, and I personally think it deserves to be acknowledged on the same level as sports, such as rugby, cricket and football.
"The way to do that is to implement ways of opening it up to new and untapped audiences, so I wholeheartedly support what everyone at the Racing League is aiming to achieve."
Matthew Imi, chief executive of Sky Sports Racing, said: "In recent years Sky Sports has been instrumental in helping mainstream sports grow their fan bases exponentially, appealing to a broad audience of sports enthusiasts and innovating in the process.
"We are confident that we can achieve something similar with horse racing, so partnering with an exciting new initiative like the Racing League makes absolute sense. If the Racing League and Sky Sports Racing's coverage encourages the person who goes racing once a year to go again, then I would consider that a success."
