Top broadcasters to present QIPCO British Champions Day to racegoers

Matt Chapman, best known for his role on At The Races, will anchor the raceday broadcast on the track.

Matt Chapman, Amanda Davies and Robert Cowell will be leading the way in front of the microphone on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday 15 October, alongside Ascot’s usual broadcaster, Rupert Bell, and racecourse commentator for the day, Mike Vince.

Matt Chapman, voted “Broadcaster of the Year” by the Horserace Writers and Photographers Association in December and best known for his slots on racing satellite channel At The Races, will anchor the Ascot TV programme, parts of which will also be broadcast over the public address system.

BBC Sport’s Amanda Davies will be speaking to the day’s special guests and helping to capture the mood amongst racegoers.

Newmarket trainer Robert Cowell, who saddled Prohibit to win the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes in the QIPCO British Champions Series this summer, will be alongside Chapman for much of the afternoon, helping to preview each race for the benefit of racegoers at Britain’s richest ever raceday.

Rupert Bell, Ascot TV’s presenter for more than 15 years, will be handling the post-race interviews with the winning connections. These will also be taken by At The Races and Racing UK, both of whom are televising the day, as well as by international broadcasters taking the world feed.

Up in the commentators’ gantry, Mike Vince, who has called the races on Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Day at Ascot for the past 10 years, will be providing bespoke commentaries for the racecourse. Richard Holies will be the Racetech commentator for the day, calling the races for ATR, RUK, Turf TV in the betting shops and the international broadcasters.

“We are delighted to have assembled such a strong team to present QIPCO British Champions Day to racegoers on the day,” said Rod Street, Chief Executive of British Champions Series Ltd.

“We want it to be a little different to a normal raceday and think that the combination of Matt, Amanda and Robert will provide just that, while having our own race caller as part of the team will help link the commentaries to the rest of the presentation, something which works really well at the Shergar Cup.”

Matt Chapman said: "For the purist, the inaugural Qipco Champions Day provides £3m of gift-wrapped reasons to savour Europe’s finest equine talent but, in the same way as a non-footballing fan might still watch the FA Cup or Champions League Final, the event should evolve as a ‘must see’ for general sports enthusiasts.

"The on track team see it as their mission to enhance the experience of regular racegoers while engaging and enlightening those less familiar with a truly great sport. It’s terrific to be part of an occasion which provides horse racing with the chance to be a winner."

Amanda Davies said: “British Champions Day is going to provide Flat racing in this country with a fantastic shop window and while my racing colleagues are broadcasting the big races live on BBC TV and radio, I am thrilled to be part of the racecourse team capturing the atmosphere on course.”

To book tickets via Ascot for QIPCO British Champions Day, CLICK HERE.