Racing's big opportunity: Jockey Club chief confident that 'primetime shop window' will drive new fans to the sport

ITV's new six-part docuseries set around the jump racing season has been hailed as "a chance to reach out" to new audiences for the sport by leading trainer Emma Lavelle.

The announcement was also welcomed by the chief executive of the Jockey Club, on whose racecourses such highlights as the King George, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National will be played out, with Nevin Truesdale believing the primetime slot on the main ITV1 channel would present racing with "a fantastic opportunity" to showcase itself.

The Racing Post revealed on Monday that ITV had commissioned the series from leading production company South Shore, with filming set to start at Kempton on Boxing Day, before taking in the major spring festivals at Cheltenham and Aintree.

The Netflix-aired Drive To Survive has been a huge vehicle for attracting new fans to Formula 1 over five seasons, leading to other sports such as tennis (Break Point) and golf (Full Swing) to be given the same high-end cinematic treatment.

Oisin Murphy and trainer Andrew Balding were at the centre of a five part documentary series called 'Horsepower'Credit: Edward Whitaker

British-based Equine Productions earned acclaim for their series Horsepower, which followed Andrew Balding and Oisin Murphy over 18 months and was streamed on Amazon Prime.

The same team lifted the lid on life in a major jumps yard with Taking the Reins, a series produced in collaboration with bookmakers Coral which chronicled Joe Tizzard's first season in charge after the retirement of his father Colin.

Truesdale said the new ITV series – which has the working title 'Champions' – is the culmination of a lot of activity among racing's stakeholders and their broadcast partners to try and come up with a programme format that could reach a bigger audience than its two predecessors.

"The racing industry has been working hard for some time to get a series like this off the ground and I’m absolutely delighted that ITV is giving the sport this primetime shop window," said Truesdale.

"Those of us lucky enough to follow racing already know what fantastic and thrilling entertainment it provides, bringing joy to millions of people every year. I'm absolutely certain that this six-part series will not only further excite existing fans of our sport but also capture the imagination of a broader cross-section of people who don't currently watch or engage with racing, creating future fans in the process.

"I always say to people who are new to horseracing that there is no substitute for going behind the scenes at a yard, so this series is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the dedication and passion of all those who work in the sport, the relentless focus on the care and attention our equine superstars receive and the thrill of the iconic and world famous sporting events we stage throughout the year."

Emma Lavelle: hopes the upcoming series can bring new fans to racingCredit: Edward Whitaker

Lavelle said that, from personal experience, shows like Drive To Survive can have a reach well beyond the traditional fanbase of a sport.

"The amount of interest Drive To Survive has generated to a new generation of Formula 1 fans has been incredible," she said. "My nieces have become obsessed with motor racing and Formula 1 and they would never have been prior to Drive To Survive.

"If that's anything to go by then we really have got a chance of reaching out to people who haven't caught the racing bug yet."

ITV1 and their streaming service ITVX will screen the series next summer over six weeks at 9pm.

Read more:

British racing's Drive To Survive - ITV1 to air jump racing docuseries in primetime slot next year 

'My mates are coming round to the idea of going racing, maybe this would give them that nudge' - racegoers react to ITV series 

The Front Page: racing goes primetime with new ITV series 

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