ITV, Sky & Racing TV to air Breeders’ Cup

ITV4, Sky Sports Racing, and Racing TV will broadcast the Breeders’ Cup 1 and 2 November.

The trio are broadcasting the horse racing meet in the UK and Ireland, with Epsom Derby winner City Of Troy set to take part. The Breeders’ Cup takes place in Kentucky, USA, and this will be the fourth year that it has been free-to-air on ITV.

Elsewhere, NBC, Peacock, USA Network and FanDuel TV will show the race in the US, with Virgin Media (Ireland), Kanal 75 (Sweden), Setanta (Balkans and Eurasia), Polsat (Poland), Silknet (Georgia), WeDo Sports (Germany, Switzerland, Austria), EuroVision (20 European dark market territories) and Viaplay (Scandinavia, Netherlands) showing it across the rest of Europe.

HBA Media, which distributed the rights, is also producing a Golden Hour show for the event, which will deliver the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. This will be broadcast by Channel Nine (Australia), Setanta (Balkans and Eurasia), Sony Pictures Networks (Indian Subcontinent), WeDo Sports (Germany, Switzerland and Austria), Polsat (Poland), Sport 24 (Global Airlines), and more.

Frank Sale, managing director of HBA Media, said: “Del Mar Racecourse offers the Breeders’ Cup the most scenic backdrop for this prestigious Championship series. The expanded worldwide reach of 30 networks broadcasting the live coverage underlines the Breeders’ Cup importance within the sporting landscape, as well as its engaged fanbase internationally. 

“HBA is proud to have represented the Breeders’ Cup international rights for well over a decade now and the pick-up this year matches the ambition we have for the sport of horse racing and the opportunity we see with its premium assets”.

Breeders’ Cup EVP and chief marketing officer Justin McDonald said: “The Breeders’ Cup is pleased to see increasing interest in and affinity for the World Championships from fans around the world year after year. Not only are more international horses than ever traveling to Del Mar to compete in the world’s best two days of racing, but thanks to HBA and our media distribution partners, fans and bettors around the world will be able to experience it all from their home countries. We look forward to continuing to expand our reach and engage new fans around the world in the years to come.”