Horse racing: Clare Balding’s sadness as BBC lose live racing

Channel 4 is from 2013 to show all terrestrial racing, including the Grand National, Royal Ascot and the Epsom Derby, in a contract that is due to last for at least four years. Balding has, in recent years, become synonymous with BBC racing but has already been linked with a possible transfer to Channel 4 when the broadcaster assumes televised autonomy of the sport.

Although disappointed by the news, Balding, who works for the BBC in a freelance capacity, said on Twitter she would not be making any hasty decisions.

She wrote: “Desperately sad that BBC TV has lost all rights to cover horse racing. I’ve worked with some wonderful & talented folk over the last 16 yrs. I am immensely proud of everything we have done on BBC TV & of the team I have worked with at BBC Sport. I’ve given it my life & soul.

“I’m not rushing into any decisions about what I will do in the future. 2012 is a busy enough year to keep me on my toes & then we’ll see.”

The BBC have shown just 13 days of live racing since 2010 and have abandoned live televised racing due to reported budgetary cuts. Instead, BBC funds will be directed towards retaining events such as the Six Nations rugby union and Formula 1, which they now share with Sky.

The deal means British Champions Day at Ascot, the culmination of the season-long British Champions Series, will also feature on Channel 4 for the first time in 2013.

Willie Carson has been Balding’s co-presenter on BBC racing for many years and the five-times champion Flat jockey was also saddened by the news. “The BBC have been involved in racing since the year dot,” he said. “BBC is a national broadcaster throughout the world – unfortunately racing is going to lose. BBC giving up racing is sad.”

Sir Peter O’Sullevan was the BBC’s racing commentator for 50 years until his retirement in 1997. He was dubbed the “voice of racing”, and described the loss of the channel’s coverage of the sport as a “sad development”.

“It’s very poor. It’s been on the cards for a while and the BBC’s lack of enthusiasm has crystallised into this decision,” he said. “I think it is regrettable for a national broadcaster to want to opt out of one of our traditional premier sports. The Beeb did racing quite well and I think racing was very good for the Beeb.

“It’s a sad development and I’m sure The Queen will find it regrettable that a sport she has embraced so enthusiastically should not be represented on the national channel. It appears to me to be fairly unacceptable.”

Former jumps jockey Mick Fitzgerald, who has been among the BBC team at the Grand National in recent years, expects big changes from Channel 4.

“There’s a lot of talk about how the programme is going to look. It’s going to be a totally new deal. We could see a big change,” said Fitzgerald. “It means that now they have promised to do the job, and do it better. We can all wait and see and look forward to it. The BBC had so many cameras at Aintree and they didn’t do anything by half. This new deal is going to be huge. It’s a shame the BBC has lost it [the National] because it’s a national institution, but we’ve got to move on and it’s onwards and upwards. It shows Channel 4’s commitment to putting sport to the forefront of their coverage.

“Hats off to them to throw so much money at it and they will be keen on getting it right.”