Racing UK’s portfolio of quality racing is to be strengthened in 2012 with the addition of live coverage from three new venues.

With effect from 1 May the leading dedicated satellite horseracing channel will broadcast all races from Exeter, Kelso and Perth, boosting the number of tracks it represents to 33 and adding coverage of more than 40 fixtures annually to its comprehensive package for subscribers.

Under the six-year agreement pictures from all three courses will be delivered to betting shop customers via TurfTV.

Richard FitzGerald, CEO of Racecourse Media Group, the umbrella organisation for the racecourses holding an interest in Racing UK said, “This landmark agreement significantly strengthens Racing UK’s offer to its domestic and commercial subscribers, particularly during the jumps season.

“The decision of the courses to switch their media rights to Racing UK further endorses the RMG business model and reflects the industry’s confidence in the channel and the integrity of its coverage.”

The agreement consolidates live racing coverage north of the border with RMG now responsible for the management of media rights for all five Scottish courses whose fixtures will be broadcast exclusively by Racing UK.

Perth General Manager Sam Morshead, said, “The natural conclusion of our current contract has provided us with an opportunity to unite the Scottish courses in the one Media Group for the long term benefit of racing in Scotland.

“Racing UK’s commitment to quality racing and its consistently high production values will, we believe, enhance the perception of our product and deliver many commercial advantages.”

Kelso Managing Director Richard Landale said, “The five courses in Scotland have been marketing themselves collectively for a number of years under the banner of Racing In Scotland.

“The ability to cross-promote fixtures with unified television coverage will provide new opportunities for integrated marketing initiatives and sponsorship activity.”

Exeter Racecourse had an existing agreement for media rights with At The Races when Jockey Club Racecourses took over the West Country course in 2007. Simon Bazalgette, Group Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, said: “After a competitive process, we have taken the commercial decision to move our media rights for Exeter across to Racing UK, which means that all 14 of our racecourses are now part of RMG. This new agreement for Exeter offers greater returns, as well as supporting our sponsorship agreements and digital activity. Through our reinvestment in the sport, ultimately that’s a better return for British racing.”

Racecourse Media Group (RMG) has appointed Ed Gretton, Clerk of the Course at Chester and Bangor-on-Dee racecourses, to a new position of Director of Racing.

Gretton will be responsible for formulating and leading RMG’s strategy on a range of collective racing issues, including fixture planning.

Racecourse Media Group, the umbrella organisation for the 30 Racecourses which hold an interest in Racing UK, Turf TV and GBI Racing, has developed significantly as a strategic partner to the racecourses over recent years.

RMG Chief Executive, Richard FitzGerald, said: “The RMG Board was united in the search for a strong racing executive to further develop our racecourses’ commercial opportunities.

“Securing Ed Gretton is a strong endorsement of how seriously we take the role and it shows how important significant issues, such as fixture planning, are for our future commercial success.”

Richard Thomas, Chief Executive of Chester Race company (Chester and Bangor-On-Dee racecourses), said: “It will be difficult to replace Ed after his eight fantastic years as Clerk of the Course, but we totally endorse the new role at RMG and obviously look forward to working closely with Ed in the future.

“Critical items such as the fixture list and on-course operations will increasingly influence the long-term future of our racing.”

Gretton, who will take up his new role in November, said: “It will be sad to leave Chester and Bangor-on-Dee but having been involved in the industry discussions on fixtures for the last few years – on behalf of the large independent courses – I am well aware of the challenges that lie ahead and the opportunity they present to create a more viable and successful industry.

“RMG has proved itself in the media rights field and I look forward to helping extend that collective approach going forward.”

Forty-eight-hour declarations have successfully increased revenues and been instrumental in the promotion of British and Irish racing overseas. The new three-year deal – which starts on January 1 and replaces an initial three-year agreement – includes incentives for The Horsemen’s Group, such as appearance money and added prize-money, to reflect the Group’s continued support and assistance of 48-hour declarations.

Simon Bazalgette, Group Chief Executive of The Jockey Club Group, which owns 13 of the RMG racecourses, said: “Without 48-hour declarations we simply could not sell our racing into big markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Turkey and Australia where we expect to see further growth in the next few years. The horsemen will share in that growth as these new markets, in different time zones, develop.”

Alan Morcombe, Chief Executive of The Horsemen’s Group, said: “The 48-hour agreement between the RMG racecourses and The Horsemen’s Group is another example of racecourses and the horsemen working well together for the benefit of racing. The agreement acknowledges that racecourses accept that they should recompense the horsemen for enabling 48-hour declarations for the purpose of generating new revenue and profit streams for the racecourses. It is very good news that RMG racecourses can now commit to selling their media rights overseas.”

Ellen brings to the (Non Executive) role 30 years of experience in investment banking and capital markets through senior roles with major UK investment banks, before moving into asset management and insurance. He has subsequently chaired a number of companies owned, largely, by private equity investors.

He joins Independent Non Executive Chairman Will Wyatt, CEO Richard FitzGerald, and Non Executives Simon Bazalgette (Jockey Club Racecourses), Bill Farnsworth and John Sanderson (representing smaller independent courses), and Sarah Horden (representing larger independent courses) on the RMG Board.  Ellen begins his role on June 30.

Racecourse Media Group is the umbrella organisation for the 30 Racecourses which hold an interest in Racing UK, Turf TV and GBI Racing. 

Also a racehorse owner, Ellen said: “I am delighted to be joining the Board of RMG at this point in the development of the business, and after the Board and management team have made such significant progress in optimising the media assets of their stakeholder racecourses.”

On Ellen’s appointment, RMG Chairman Wyatt commented: “Simon is an experienced chairman of PLCs and private companies and boasts extensive knowledge of the sports industry.

“While he chaired SBJ Group, it had one of the largest sports books of any UK insurance broking business with clients that included the majority of British racecourses, as well as the FA, Premier League and Football League, so he has a strong affinity with the sector and we look forward to his input into our future growth.”

The deal means many of the top races from the UK, including the Grand National, the Epsom Derby and the 1000 and 2000 Guineas, will benefit from increased global exposure.

Aside from the top-quality racing, the contract will encompass the distribution of Sport of Kings, a monthly programme produced by Racing UK, which is dedicated to British horseracing. The show began early last year and is carried on a number of national networks and major airlines.

Racing UK’s Simon Brydon said: “RMG has enjoyed an excellent working relationship with BBC Worldwide over several years. 

“However, we were very keen to cement the partnership for an extended period and, as a result, RMG and BBC Worldwide are both committed to widening the distribution of our top quality racing and so further raising awareness of British racing overseas.”

BBC Worldwide’s Sport Sales Manager Richard Hornsby-Smith added: “By continuing our successful relationship with RMG, we are able to offer international audiences the very best of British racing.  We very much look forward to playing a key part in increasing the profile of these fantastic  sporting events around the world.”

They have pooled their respective rights into the venture which will create a new, unified broadcast service aimed at retail based wagering operators around the world.

The joint venture is intended to grow revenues and reduce duplicated costs which will further increase the returns to racing that have grown since the introduction of 48 hour declarations on UK Flat racing. The company will start trading on March 1st 2010.  

The new company will be run by joint Managing Directors Matthew Imi and Richard FitzGerald, the Chief Executives respectively of ATR and RMG, together with two additional Directors representing both ATR’s and RMG’s racecourse partners and an Independent Chairman.  

The new operation will be tasked with maximising the revenue opportunities for British and Irish racing in important pari-mutuel markets such as Italy, France, South Africa, Turkey and Australia as well as further developing opportunities in newer markets such as Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Discussions relating to the possible expansion of the joint venture’s remit to cover other international distribution and syndication opportunities are ongoing.

The joint venture has commissioned SIS to create an international broadcast service which will provide coverage of live racing from all 60 British and 26 Irish tracks and to manage distribution of the service to fixed odds markets such as the Caribbean and Sri Lanka.

The service will be launched under a new brand to be agreed by both partners. 

Matthew Imi, Chief Executive, At The Races said:

“This joint venture partnership is great news for all British and Irish racecourses and will signal a real step change in the way At The Races and RMG can exploit the opportunities for international distribution. As a combined and unified product British and Irish racing is a hugely powerful proposition to racing fans and betting audiences around the world, arguably one that is unrivalled in terms of quality, depth and variety by any other racing jurisdiction. Richard and I are looking forward to working together to ensure we fully maximise the opportunity and more effectively market and promote our racing as part of a unified service.”

Richard FitzGerald, Chief Executive, RMG, said:

“We are very pleased that the British and Irish racecourses are able to be sold as one package which will drive further value for our racecourses and provide a better product to our customers across the world. I would like to put on record our appreciation to Phumelela Gold Enterprises for the work they have done for our racecourses in this area over the last five years in developing the marketplace and as one of our largest international customers for British racing. It is significant progress that RMG and ATR are able to work together to develop a combined product and we are all looking forward to working together to create the leading international package.”

(*) ATR, At The Races, owns various media rights to 30 British racecourses and all 26 Irish racecourses. The company is majority owned by racecourses and is supported by shareholders including BSkyB, Arena Leisure plc, Northern Racing and Ascot Racecourse.

(*) RMG, Racecourse Media Group is the umbrella organisation for the 30 British racecourses which own and operate Racing UK.