Former England striker Michael Owen has signed a deal to act as an ambassador and regular contributor for the dedicated horse racing channel Racing UK.
Owen, who played for Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United during his 16-year playing career before retiring in 2013, is a renowned racing enthusiast and a regular at the major Flat festivals.
He owns and manages Manor House Stables, a Cheshire training yard with 90 thoroughbreds, including the top-class Royal Ascot winner, Brown Panther.
The two-year agreement will see the former England footballer make regular appearances on the subscription channel, including punditry roles, as well as taking part in marketing and digital campaigns for the channel and subscriber days at the stables.
Owen’s new Racing UK role adds to his existing football punditry commitments for BT Sport, where he is one of the channel’s main co-commentators, and his regular appearances on the BBC’s Match of the Day 2.
“I am delighted to be joining Racing UK and linking up with a racing partner who supports the industry,” said Owen.
“Hopefully, we can work together in growing the appeal of this wonderful sport.”
Racing UK’s Director of Marketing, Clive Cottrell, added: “Michael is hugely passionate and knowledgeable about racing, as evidenced by his fantastic state-of-the-art set-up at Manor House Stables.
“He is one of the country’s best-loved sportsmen and his tremendous appeal will add to the channel’s output and bring horseracing to a new audience.”
Racing UK is one of two specialist horse racing broadcasters in the UK and the channel is home to live action from 34 of the 58 racecourses in the UK, including premier tracks such as Cheltenham, Ascot, Aintree, Newmarket and Goodwood.
Most recently, the channel took the rights to screen races at Ascots from its rival At The Races, backed by BSkyB, which has the rights to air live racing from the 24 other tracks in the UK, as well as top Irish racing.
On recently celebrating the channel’s 10th anniversary, Richard FitzGerald, CEO of Racing UK and its parent company Racecourse Media Group, said: “There were many in the racing industry who did not give Racing UK a chance of celebrating its first birthday, let alone 10th.
“Thankfully over the years, the founders, racecourses, executive teams, board members, partners, media, and, of course, subscribers have always believed in the business, which is now firmly established as a key component of the industry.
“Racing UK has come a long, long way since Rishi Persad opened our coverage at Kempton Park in May 2004.
“We have added four courses – including Ascot – grown our subscriber-base to nearly 55,000 and now show 733 fixtures a year, which is more than any other channel.
“Our coverage has also developed via increased international racing, features, studio programmes and no intrusive advertising, while the way you can watch has also changed markedly as we continue to innovate.
Racing UK is available on Sky, Virgin and Freeview for £22.50 per month. For more information about the channel, visit the official website.
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