ITV is now the primary free to watch TV racing broadcaster in the United Kingdom having replaced Channel 4 in January 2017. Channel 4 previously broadcast continuous racing from 22nd March 1984, a lot for ITV to live up to.
The decision not to renew by Channel 4 was influenced, in part, by low viewing figures and it was hoped ITV would be able to bring racing to a larger more mainstream audience.
The first five years of results have been promising for ITV, especially for the bigger races shown on the main channel. Some criticism has been brought however for the high percentage of less prestigious racing that is shown on ITV4.
This change in broadcaster had little effect on the, hugely valuable, live TV racing offers from top UK online bookmakers. Betting sites provide generous price promises and free bets on live racing because the audience and the size of their book is bigger for live events in general, and this allows them to offer better odds and money back deals.
It ultimately matters little to the bookie who the broadcaster actually is, all they care about is that more people are interested in these race.
Best ITV Racing Free Bets & Offers
T&C’s Apply, 18+, BeGambleAware.org Gamstop.co.uk #ad
Bet 15 Mins To Go ITV Race, Win = £20 Free Bet
Opt-in required in the bet slip, minimum stake £5, min. odds EVS, ITV and select other racing only, free bet will match the win stake of your qualifying bet, free bet has 7 days validity, on horse racing only. Further T&Cs Apply #ad
Claim
T&Cs apply 18+
Beaten By A Length Money back Up To £10
18+ UK&IRE Online & Phone. First real money single win/EW bet of £1 min per from 8am on the day of selected races. Max 1x £10 Free Bet per race if horse is beaten by a length or less. Credited within 24 hrs valid for 7 days on horse racing. Free Bet stake not returned. Restrictions and racing rules apply. #ad
Claim
T&Cs apply 18+
Fail To Finish Money back Up To £10
Money back if your horse fails to finish a race for any reason in select jump meetings. 18+. UK&IRE. Online only. first real money single Win/EW of £1+ per race from 8am on the day of selected races. Max 1x£10 Free Bet per race, valid for 7 days on racing only. Stake not returned. Restrictions and racing rules apply. #ad
Claim
T&Cs apply 18+
ITV Racing 4/1 Offer
Back a winner at 4/1 or more and get a risk free bet on the next live ITV race (up to £50) at bet365. Offer applies to first single bet placed. Applies to Win and Each-Way Fixed Odds markets and Enhanced Place Terms markets only. Bet restrictions and T&Cs apply. New and eligible customers only. #ad
Claim
T&Cs apply 18+
Bet Boost Once Each Day
1 x Bet Boost on horse racing or greyhounds per customer, per day. Max stake £20 or £20 EW. On EW bets, only ‘win’ part boosted. Online only. Other terms apply. See full terms. #ad
Claim
T&Cs apply 18+
Price Promise ITV Racing
bet365 will be best price or joint best price on every horse for all races shown live on ITV Racing. Applies to bets placed on Win and Each-Way Fixed Odds markets from 10am on the day of the race up to 15 minutes before the scheduled ‘off’ time for each ITV race. Prices matched against selected bookmakers. Bet restrictions and T&Cs apply. #ad
Claim
T&Cs apply 18+
Offers change periodically, especially between the flat and jump season. Keep an eye on this page and I will update all new offers as they come out.
Why Do ITV Races Have So Many Offers?
Ultimately it is about competition and bookmakers know that more people bet on ITV races simply because they can watch them easily. The detailed race build up featuring ex-jockeys and other experts also helps inform people better about the runners and riders making them more likely to want to place a bet on the result.
There can be up to 50x more staked on a typical ITV race compared to an equivalent non-televised race, and while punters can now watch all races they bet on in the UK and Ireland by streaming it through a betting site it isn’t quite the same experience. Streaming windows are small and low resolution and you don’t get the race build up and insight you get on tv.
Naturally ITV will also show all of the big races, especially the ones on their main channel, and big races are naturally more bet on than lower grade and class races that are non-televised.
Therefore, customers who like to watch and bet on live ITV racing would be wise to shop around as bookies run lots of different offers around televised racing and different deals suit different people. It is common to find money back 2nd (3rd & 4th and sometimes if you lose), free bets if you back a winner over certain odds, enhanced prices, extra places, enhanced each-way terms and boost your own odds features. Really if you bet on ITV racing and you do so without an offer you are doing yourself a disservice.
ITV Racing Major Meetings
It came as a shock to many when it was announced that ITV would be replacing Channel 4 as the main free to air horse racing broadcaster in the UK.
But in many ways, this wasn’t that much of a shock. Channel 4 audiences for the big events have been in decline since they acquired them from the BBC in 2013, events like Champions Day, which drew in an audience of 1,100,000 back in 2013, had dropped below 400,000 in 2016.
The decision by Channel 4 not to renew their tenure seems to have been mutually beneficial with the rights owners. This coinciding with new interest from the more middle-of-the-road ITV also offered new ways to display top level racing to more people.
This already seems to have paid off with most meetings broadcast now showing viewing figures on the rise, especially those shown on ITV. There have been ups and down, with the Cheltenham Festival in 2018 seeing a dip but the Epsom Derby attracting the most viewers since 2013.
The pandemic certainly helped the fortunes of ITV with more people than ever tuning into weekend racing that was largely held behind closed doors. The lack of other sources of entertainment at that time meant there were more people around to watch the live broadcasts. The effect seems to have been long lasting too with ITV enjoying even higher viewing figures when covid restrictions were listed than before the outbreak. The 2022 Cheltenham Festival attracted viewing figures of around 1.6 million people for the Gold Cup.
Live ITV Racing
Date
Meeting 1
Other Meeting(s)
Feature Race/Event
Monday 1st January
Cheltenham
Musselburgh
Saturday 22nd January
Ascot
Haydock Park
Clarence House Chase
Saturday 29th January
Cheltenham
Doncaster
Festival Trials Day
Saturday 5th February
Sandown
Musselburgh & Wetherby
Saturday 12th February
Newbury
Warwick
Betfair Handicap Hurdle
Saturday 19th February
Ascot
Haydock & Wincanton
Saturday 26th February
Lingfield
Kempton & Newcastle
Winter Derby Stakes
Saturday 2nd March
Doncaster
Newbury & Kelso
Tuesday 15th March
Cheltenham Festival
Champion Hurdle
Wednesday 16th March
Cheltenham Festival
Queen Mother Champion Chase
Thursday 17th March
Cheltenham Festival
The World Hurdle
Friday 18th March
Cheltenham Festival
Cheltenham Gold Cup
Saturday 2nd April
Ayr
Newbury
Scottish Grand National
Thursday 7th April
Aintree Grand National
Aintree Hurdle
Friday 8th April
Aintree Grand National
Melling Chase
Saturday 9th April
Aintree Grand National
Grand National
Saturday 25th April
Sandown
Haydock
Jumps Finale
Saturday 2nd May
Newmarket
Goodwood
2,000 Guineas
Sunday 3rd May
Newmarket
Hamilton
1,000 Guineas
Saturday 16th May
Newbury
Newmarket
Lockinge
Friday 5th June
Epsom Derby Meeting
Oaks Stakes
Saturday 6th June
Epsom Derby Meeting
Derby Stakes
Tuesday 16th June
Royal Ascot
Queen Anne Stakes
Wednesday 17th June
Royal Ascot
Prince of Wales Stakes
Thursday 18th June
Royal Ascot
The Gold Cup
Friday 19th June
Royal Ascot
Coronation Stakes
Saturday 20th June
Royal Ascot
Diamond Jubilee Stakes
Saturday 29th June
Newcastle
Newmarket & York
Northumberland Plate
Saturday 4th July
Sandown
Haydock
Eclipse
Saturday 11th July
Newmarket July Festival
Ascot & York
Super Saturday
Saturday 25th July
Ascot
York
King George
Tuesday 28th July
Glorious Goodwood
Lennox & Vintage Stakes
Wednesday 29th July
Glorious Goodwood
Sussex Stakes
Thursday 30th July
Glorious Goodwood
Goodwood Cup
Friday 31st July
Glorious Goodwood
King George Stakes
Saturday 1st August
Glorious Goodwood
Nassau Stakes
Wednesday 19th August
Ebor Festival
Juddmonte Stakes
Thursday 20th August
Ebor Festival
Yorkshire Oaks
Friday 21st August
Ebor Festival
Nunthorpe Stakes
Saturday 22nd August
Ebor Festival
Goodwood
Ebor Heritage Handicap
Saturday 5th September
Haydock
Kempton & Ascot
Sprint Cup
Saturday 12th September
Doncaster
Chester & Chelmsford
St Leger
Saturday 26th September
Newmarket
Haydock
Park Stakes
Saturday 3rd October
Newmarket
Ascot & Redcar
Chariot Stakes
Saturday 9th October
Newmarket
York
Fillies’ Mile
Saturday 10th October
Newmarket
York
Dewhurst Stakes
Saturday 17th October
Ascot (Champions Day)
British Champions Day
Saturday 24th October
Cheltenham
Newbury & Doncaster
Handicap Chase
Saturday 31st October
Wetherby
Ascot
Saturday 7th November
Wincanton
Aintree & Doncaster
Saturday 14th November
Cheltenham
Lingfield
November Meeting
Sunday 15th November
Cheltenham
Fontwell
November Meeting
Saturday 21st November
Haydock
Ascot
Betfair Chase
Saturday 27th November
Newbury
Long Distance Hurdle
Saturday 28th November
Newbury
Newcastle
Hennessy Gold Cup
Saturday 5th December
Newbury
Newcastle
Friday 11th December
Cheltenham
Bangor
International Meeting
Saturday 12th December
Cheltenham
Doncaster
International Meeting
Saturday 19th December
Ascot
Haydock
Saturday 26th December
Kempton Winter Festival
Wetherby
King George VI Chase
Sunday 27th December
Chepstow
Kempton Winter Festival
Welsh Grand National
Monday 28th December
Newbury
NOTE – Table above shows live racing on ITV, most races and meetings (around 90%) will be broadcast on ITV4 or ITV3.
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