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My Racing Story

My Racing Story

Seb Vance

Seb Vance pictured with Ryan MooreSeb Vance pictured with Ryan Moore
© Photo Healy Racing

There are few more lively topics in Irish racing right now than racing’s TV rights in Ireland.

As most people reading this will be well aware, television coverage from Ireland’s 26 racecourses will transfer from At The Races to Racing UK, or in its new guise, from January 1.

Everyone seemingly has an opinion from the horsemen and women to the media, from the racecourses to the punters. Some opinions have been constructive and well thought-out, some definitely haven’t.

I have worked in, and with, the racing media all my career, from five years as a news editor on the Racing Post to three years as the media and PR manager at the Dubai Racing Club to nearly a decade as communications director at Racecourse Media Group, the parent company of Racing UK. In all that time, I don’t think I have been involved with such an emotive topic.

But what emerged above all else is that people in Irish racing care deeply about the sport.

You’d expect me say this, but we are all tremendously excited about working on such an amazing and varied product. Aside from assuring viewers that there will be some familiar faces, special offers, and blanket coverage (more of which later), there are so many storylines, characters, cultures and heritages to get stuck into and explore. We want to get well and truly under the skin of the sport and are keen to hear from anyone in Irish racing, who thinks they may have a story to tell.

While the showpiece races will get the usual first-class treatment, we want to learn more about the lesser-profile races and the racecourses they’re staged at, which will hopefully give viewers a colourful tour of the 26 tracks and show just what Irish racing has to offer. We feel that bringing together the best Irish and British racing onto one place will create a fantastic new channel, which will showcase the stories of the Jumps and Flat seasons, including nearly 90% of all Group and Graded races in Britain and Ireland.

Since the announcement in January, we have been meeting with the racecourses to see how we can work together in helping showcase the courses on the Channel. The RMG team has now met every racecourse in Ireland over the summer and is fully armed with many great ideas and stories to expand upon next year.

Of course, there are challenges. Ruby Walsh, a long-time ambassador for Racing UK, told me, there are two common traits about many people in Ireland — they are hesitant about change, and are careful in how they spend their money. I don’t know if this is just a casual stereotype from Ruby, but uncertainty about a new channel and its cost duly emerged as two overriding responses.

Well, we are not going to make any apologies for the change. Horseracing broadcasting needs to catch up with other sports. To that end, like you would with golf or tennis, when you can now select individual players or matches to watch, we will give our viewers the chance to watch a dedicated feed from all 61 racecourses next year.

For the really action-packed dozen or so days, we will provide a fully-produced second channel, in addition to the main channel and the individual racecourse feeds, which will be available on our digital service, Extra. We will also regularly employ the latest analysis tools such as the HEGO technology and touchscreen, which has become a popular staple of The Verdict programme.

People talk about fixture congestion, but let’s not forget At The Races coped just fine with 56 racecourses on one channel. And they have to slot in 12 minutes of advertising each hour too, something which we don’t need to worry about.

In fact, the Irish fixture list knits together very nicely with the British fixture list. And that’s no coincidence. There has been close collaboration over the summer to ensure minimum congestion and clashes on race fixtures and times and we are particularly indebted to the Irish racecourses and HRI.

As a result, the channel will broadcast only one blank British or Irish day outside of five days of religious holidays (Good Friday and Christmas).

We will endeavour to show nearly all the racing live and without split screens throughout the year, but there are a dozen or so days which are very busy. Our first day of broadcasting from Ireland, New Year’s Day, is one of those and represents a challenge from the off.

That’s where our digital platform Extra will come into its own. And for those who don’t want to watch on their phone or laptop, we have invested heavily in Apps, for plugin devices, such as Amazon Firesticks and Apple TVs, and for Sony Smart TVs. Bespoke Apps for Samsung and LG televisions are in the pipeline too.

As for the cost of the channel, we are fully aware that there is huge competition for the Euro and, of course, it’s up to everyone to decide what they deem is value for money. There is a perception in Ireland that At The Races is free, but in fact you have to pay a minimum of €39 a month to access the channel. Of course, that’s part of a bundle, which includes other channels, whereas we realise we are asking people to pay €31 per month for one channel.

But we are very hopeful that racing fans will give the channel a try and see that the quality and variety of British and Irish racing, the colourful features, first rate-previews and analysis make it a premium channel and one that’s value for money.

We will run free trials and offer significant discounts to access the channel for Irish racing fans, as well as working with the racecourses to offer discounted entry and hospitality offers to race-days.

Ruby also told me that he got stick for wearing UK on his breeches, and one newspaper revealed that the term UK is banned from all their copy. From January 1, the UK will be dropped to reflect the incredible offering from two of the strongest racing countries in the world, and viewers in Ireland might also be reassured to see some very familiar faces on the channel, in addition to some new ones.

It is our aim to become the definitive racing channel from both sides of the Irish Sea. Live British and Irish racing is what we believe viewers want, above anything else. That’s what we’ll deliver.

It will take time to bed in, of course it will, but judge us in a few months please. I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed. And all feedback is welcome (he says almost convincingly). Please get in touch via Twitter (@sebvance).

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