ITV Racing to broadcast eight Dublin Racing Festival races across superb weekend

One of the biggest days in Irish jump racing is set to be seen by its biggest ever television audience after it was revealed ITV Racing will showcase the second afternoon of the Dublin Racing Festival in an additional three-hour programme next Sunday, February 7.

The Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup will form the centrepiece of a ten-race package that will bring viewers six contests live from Leopardstown plus the four main events from a card of Cheltenham Festival trials at Musselburgh.

Monkfish is one of the stars set to feature in the ITV4 Leopardstown coverage next SundayCredit: Patrick McCann

The ITV4 programme, to be hosted by Ed Chamberlin, will run from 1pm to 4pm and incorporate the first six Leopardstown races, featuring four Grade 1 highlights. The Flogas Novice Chase, Chanelle Pharma Novice Hurdle and Tattersalls Ireland Spring Juvenile Hurdle will all be shown, alongside the Irish Gold Cup and two handicap hurdles.

In a further boost, ITV4 will also now cover the opening day of the Dublin Racing Festival next Saturday, having added two Grade 1 prizes, the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle and Ladbrokes Dublin Chase, to form part of a broadcast in which Sandown, Musselburgh and Wetherby provide its British action.

Leopardstown's marketing, sponsorship and events manager Vicki Donlon said: "It's a great boost to the Dublin Racing Festival and I think ITV extending its coverage of the meeting shows the quality of racing on offer at the festival.

"Our sponsors have been very supportive of us and it's nice for them to have races showcased on the channel. Anything that increases the exposure of Irish racing is obviously a good thing."

Honeysuckle's Irish Champion Hurdle defence will be shown live on ITV4 next SaturdayCredit: Patrick McCann

Over the course of the two days, Chacun Pour Soi, Honeysuckle, Minella Indo and Monkfish are among the stars who are due to compete in the ITV4 races.

Racecourse Media Group and Horse Racing Ireland have helped to facilitate the extra programme, which further maintains the trend for ITV to expand on its contracted commitments with more Sunday transmissions and Irish content. That last year included the introduction of new programmes to televise the final two days of Leopardstown's Christmas Festival and the Sunday of Irish Champions Weekend.

Irish terrestrial viewers can also follow the action on RTE for both of the weekend's cards.

The extra Sunday programme is also a huge boost for Musselburgh's Scottish Cheltenham Trials meeting, with the broadcast covering the bet365 Scottish Triumph Hurdle, bet365 Scottish Stayers Novices' Hurdle, bet365 Scottish Supreme Novices' Hurdle and a Pertemps qualifier.

The East Lothian track will offer £106,000 in prize-money on the Sunday, with the value of the four ITV4 races raised to £20,000 each.

Two races – the bet365 Edinburgh National and bet365 Scottish County Hurdle – were already scheduled to be part of ITV4's Saturday coverage.

Musselburgh racecourse general manager, Bill Farnsworth, said: “It has always been our ambition to have ITV covering both days of our Scottish Cheltenham Trials weekend and it is an added bonus that we will be part of its Sunday programme which features the Dublin Racing Festival.

"With the support of bet365, we have been able to increase prize-money for the four ITV races to £20,000 each, which we hope will attract some very strong entries."

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