RACING, like any sport, needs eyeballs focused on it.
That was the loudest point made by ITV Racing anchor Ed Chamberlain, speaking on a panel after the premiere of Champions: Full Gallop Season Two.
Taking place at BAFTA, Piccadilly, jockeys and trainers were suited and booted alongside a mix of celebrities, influencers and even an equine athlete in the shape of 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Coneygree.
The exclusive first viewing of British racing’s second attempt to emulate the success of other sporting docuseries was met with plenty of laughter, applause and excitement, especially by the evening’s host, Joel Dommett.
“It’s fascinating, I knew nothing about racing, and this is genuinely interesting”, Dommett said. “Understanding the characters behind the jockeys and trainers, and the stories that this series unearths is amazing. I love it.”
The cinema room was, of course, largely filled with people from the racing industry – jockeys, trainers, owners, journalists and so on – all of whom may not have been as amazed by the show as Dommett, but it was still a captivating and well-executed piece regardless of background knowledge or interest in the sport.
Dommett, and others in the room such as actress Danielle Harold, ex-footballer James Collins, and Love Island couple Farmer Will & Jessie Wynter, are maybe more like the litmus paper for this programme to be tested on, which was clearly spelt out by Chamberlain.
“Racing is a sport that can’t survive without eyeballs,” said Chamberlain, who was today shortlisted for Sports Presenter of the Year at the Broadcast Sport Awards 2025 and part of an ITV Racing team that has just signed an extension to be the terrestrial home of the sport until 2030.
“The day horse racing is not on terrestrial television is the day you can turn out the lights. So, to have something like Champions: Full Gallop raising awareness of our sport on ITV is so, so important. It gets the sport to where we need to get it, to people like yourself [pointing at Dommett], who didn’t know a whole heap about our sport, and suddenly we hear your enthusiasm.”
Chamberlain conceded the series “might be criticised by people within racing because everyone knows it” but rightly pointed out that this is about “giving people a taste of what racing is all about. A taste that will hopefully lead to more people watching and getting involved in racing. Hopefully this can be the start of that journey for many people.”
The full six-part series of Champions: Full Gallop Season Two will air later this October on ITV.