All you need to know about ITV’s new prime-time horse racing docuseries
British horse racing is getting the Drive to Survive treatment in the form of a fly-on-the-wall docuseries about the 2023-24 jumps season due to be broadcast on ITV next year.
The as-yet unnamed six-part series “will tell the stories of lives, journeys, and adventures – both human and equine – which make horse racing so dramatic and compelling”, its makers say.
An attempt to grow the sport’s appeal, it will be produced by ITV-backed independent production company South Shore, which has made sport documentaries for Sky, the BBC and Channel 4.
“This is an extremely exciting development for the sport,” said British Horseracing Authority chief executive Julie Harrington.
“The industry’s strategy is all about reaching new audiences and showing them the brilliance of our sport, while at the same time making racing more interesting and engaging for our current fans. There promises to be a little bit of something for everyone in this new programme.
“We’re proud of our sport and all it stands for, and anything that brings the passion and excitement of racing and the characters who work in it into people’s homes can only be a good thing.”
Filming is due to begin in December and the docuseries is slated to be broadcast in late summer 2024.
Horse racing’s project is the latest in a long line of behind-the-scenes sport documentaries designed to replicate Drive to Survive’s global success in taking motor racing to new audiences.
Tennis and golf have followed suit with Netflix shows Break Point and Full Swing, while a series on the Six Nations was filmed at this year’s championship and is currently in production.
Producers South Shore previously worked on the BAFTA award winning Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams, The Man Who Bought Cricket, about fraudster Allen Stanford, and Football Dreams: The Academy, set in the Crystal Palace youth set-up.
“The dedication, determination and bravery in British horse racing is the stuff of legend – reputations are won and lost in the blink of an eye,” said South Shore joint chief executive Melanie Leach.
“We couldn’t be more excited to tell the story of the fight between the heroes and heroines of this incredible sport as they race their way to the winning line.”
The series is an industry-wide collaboration which also involves the Professional Jockeys’ Association, the National Trainers Federation and Racecourse Media Group, and will be sponsored by Flutter, which owns Paddy Power and Sky Bet.
“We are delighted to announce the forthcoming horse racing documentary series in conjunction with ITV and RMG,” said Flutter UK and Ireland chief executive Ian Brown.
“This is an idea we’ve promoted for some time and we are hugely excited to be bringing the inner story of horse racing, and all the wonderful people who support it to a new and broader audience through a prime time slot on ITV1.”