See the world’s best racehorses as never before!

Arguably the best day’s Flat racing in the world last year, QIPCO British Champions Day is brought to life in a brilliant 3D feature.  Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

The world’s first ever 3D horseracing film, a 24 minute documentary about the inaugural QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot last October, will be shown for the first time on Sky’s 3D channel tomorrow and can also be seen by racegoers at the QIPCO Guineas Festival at Newmarket on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 May.

Narrated by legendary broadcaster Sir Peter O’Sullevan, the film is a co-production between At The Races, QIPCO Holding and British Champions Series.

The outstanding quality of the racing, headlined by a ninth straight victory for the world’s best racehorse, Frankel, and the fantastic autumn sunshine at Ascot that afternoon made Britain’s richest ever raceday something special. This film captures the atmosphere in a stunning way, with the 3D dimension bringing it to life as never before.

The shots of the horses are simply breathtaking, allowing the viewer to get ‘up-close and personal’ with these majestic creatures and to see some of the world’s greatest racehorses as they have never been seen before.

You are blown away when they break out of the starting stalls and you feel like you are travelling with them during the race. You also get to stand inside the paddock while they are parading beforehand, seeing almost every hair on their coat, and again when they are washed down in some stunning post-race footage.

Produced and edited by At The Races, the UK ’s most watched dedicated horseracing channel, the ground-breaking feature was shot by 3D specialists Can Communicate using six state-of-the-art cameras and 26 staff.

Each 3D camera was actually made up of two cameras, set up to capture action from different angles. Two sets of footage are therefore displayed to the viewer simultaneously, allowing the brain to determine depth and perspective.

Bespoke rigs on the At The Races production allowed for smooth zooming, something difficult to achieve in 3D broadcast. State-of-the-art post production systems have generated maximum impact and feature-film quality.

You can catch it on the Sky 3D channel at the following times this week and next: Wednesday 25th April at 14.00 & 22.00; Thursday 26th April at 16.30; Saturday 28th April at 10.00; Monday 30th April at 13.00; Tuesday 1st May at 22.00; Thursday 3rd May at 15.30; Friday 4th May at 14.30.

At the QIPCO Guineas Festival at Newmarket on 5 and 6 May, a tented cinema will be sited on the Hyperion Lawn and will hold 20 people at a time. Admission will be free on a first come, first served basis from the start of racing and throughout the afternoon.

Rod Street, Chief Executive of British Champions Series Ltd, said: “We are big supporters of technical innovation and were therefore delighted to have backed this really exciting production.

“I think it’s fair to say that QIPCO British Champions Day more than lived up to expectations last year and this film captures the magnificence of the world class horses that took part in a way that has never been done before."

Matthew Imi, Chief Executive of At The Races, said: "We believe that racing is ideally suited to 3D broadcast and wanted to use the latest technology to capture the colour, impact and excitement of this exceptional day and really create something that can help promote QIPCO British Champions Day, Ascot Racecourse and British racing more generally around the world.

“We are extremely grateful to Sheikh Fahad Al Thani for QIPCO’s support of the project and to all those at British Champions Series for their involvement.

“It is also, of course, a real honour to have worked with Sir Peter O’Sullevan. His class matches that of the day itself and of the human and equine talent on display across possibly the best meeting to have graced a British racecourse."