Ride To Survive: racing in talks over potential Netflix series

The media company behind the smash hit Formula One documentary series 'Drive To Survive' is in advanced discussions about a horseracing version with Sky Sports Racing and Netflix, the Racing Post has learned.

It is not the only project aiming to replicate the popularity of Drive To Survive in the horseracing sphere, with Trombone Productions – the company behind the new Frankie Dettori documentary – and Nathan Horrocks' Equine Productions also understood to have teamed up with plans for a similar series.

Meetings held at this month's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar are said to have advanced the prospects of a horseracing equivalent of Drive To Survive, which is produced by Box To Box Films and commissioned by Netflix. The series provides behind-the-scenes insight into the personalities and races that make up the Formula One World Championship.

Members of Netflix's team based in LosAngeles and executives from Box To Box Films and Sky Sports Racing met with racecourse executives, owners, trainers and racing administrators from both the United States and Europe to discuss the project.

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A format for the series has yet to be agreed but it would concentrate on the 2022 Flat season and its major events on both sides of the Atlantic. Sky Sports Racing declined to comment when contacted by the Racing Post, while Box To Box Films have not responded to a request for comment.

One complicating issue is that in Formula One there is a single entity dealing with access to venues, drivers and in-car footage, whereas racing does not have a single overarching global body and rights are split between multiple bodies.

Drive To Survive, which is currently filming its fourth series, has been credited with providing a huge boost to the popularity of Formula One, especially in the United States.

The series has been described as being among the most-streamed shows on record, reportedly watched by almost 10 per cent of Netflix’s UK subscribers last year, while ESPN has said Formula One's television audience in the US has jumped to an average of around 928,000 viewers per race in 2021, from around 547,000 in 2018, since the series was released.

The proposed series would feature major events on both sides of the AtlanticCredit: Edward Whitaker

George Foster, UK managing director of sports marketing agency Two Circles, said that Drive To Survive had taken Formula One to a mass market and then driven interest in the sport.

"Basically it got them a new audience who were actually then really into the sport," he added.

Foster said that a similar series for horseracing could do the same thing, especially with one key difference between the sport and Formula One.

"The big difference and maybe the interesting difference, is that there are obviously lots of opportunities in this country and other countries to go and watch racing, unlike F1," he said.

Foster added: "If it was like Drive To Survive it would go way beyond racing and into the public eye. If they watch seven or eight episodes then they have watched seven or eight hours of racing content, which is unheard of – they might have only watched the Grand National. You could see it being really powerful for the sport.

"If you go to one of the festivals or one of those evenings with a band afterwards you would not necessarily go for the sport, the sport is almost secondary. This would put the sport front and centre, which would mean you're interacting with the sport for longer, rather than just going for a day out that also has horseracing.

"It would be that I am interested in going to see these people because I feel like I know the characters from the TV programme."

Three shows that brought their sport to a new audience

Drive to Survive

The Drive to Survive documentary provides viewers with exclusive access to drivers, managers and team owners for the duration of a Formula One season. With drama on and off the racetracks and tempers reaching fever pitch with so much at stake, the production makes for gripping viewing.

The Last Dance

A ten-part docuseries that chronicles the career of basketball legend Michael Jordan, widely regarded as one of the world's greatest ever athletes. Plenty of never-before-seen footage from an unforgettable 1997-98 season made for an essential watch for every audience.

Sunderland 'Til I Die

A documentary on the fall from grace of Sunderland FC. Not only does the show provide a behind-the-curtain view of how a club is run – or should not be run – it also shows what the results mean to those who matter most; the fans.

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