Talking Horses: the lessons for racing in Royal Ascot's TV success


‘There is an audience for pure racing’ says Mark Johnston and others after sport achieves best viewing figures for eight years

What could be more encouraging for horse racing, a sport that seems to struggle for self-confidence much of the time, than the strong viewing figures recorded by ITV for its coverage of Royal Ascot last week? Here was a race-meeting shorn of flummery, sideshow and distraction, so that the focus had nowhere else to go but on the action and the horses, and large audiences evidently found it compelling.

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Tips by Chris Cook

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