Channel 4 Racing departs with a bye bye sealed with a kiss

It began at Doncaster on a Thursday in March, 1984. It ends at Kempton on a Tuesday in December, 2016. Channel 4 Racing is running its last race. After 32 years of continuous coverage the curtain is coming down.

The afternoon's main event is at Chepstow, but the trucks, gallery and principal players are at Kempton, where the two showpiece prizes seem wholly appropriate.

They honour Desert Orchid and Wayward Lad, iconic chasers who began their careers competing on ITV before the broadcast baton passed to Channel 4. When the races are staged next year the baton will have been passed back.