Racing fans are in for treat this season as 20-time champion jockey AP McCoy is to join the Channel 4 Racing team.
AP’s first broadcast will be on Saturday 14 November, at The Open at Cheltenham.
“I’ve been very lucky and privileged to have enjoyed a fantastic career as a jump jockey,” said AP.
“I’m looking forward to working with Channel 4 over the next year and delighted to be back at some of the main festivals with a top presenting team.”
The former jockey will also be working on several other major days throughout the season including the Hennessy Gold Cup, the King George, Cheltenham’s January Trials meeting, two days from the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National.
It will not only be jump racing, as AP will also be working on the Derby, the Ebor and British Champions Day.
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AP joins a line-up of presenters that includes Clare Balding, Nick Luck, Mick Fitzgerald, Emma Spencer, Alice Plunkett, Rishi Persad, Jim McGrath, Graham Cunningham, Simon Holt and Tanya Stevenson.
Clare said: “I love the sport, the horses and the people in racing; and I feel particularly privileged to get the chance to work with AP McCoy. To hear his unique insight and opinion will be fascinating for all of us.”
After dominating the sport for two decades, AP McCoy rode his last race at Sandown Park on Saturday 25 April.
He retired on a career total of 4,357 winners and bowed out having been crowned champion jockey for the 20th year in succession.
AP won nearly every major race including two Cheltenham Gold Cups, three Champion Hurdles and the Grand National.
In 2010 he was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Ed Havard, Channel 4’s Head of TV Events, said: “AP is the most celebrated jockey in the world and is one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. His unrivalled knowledge of the sport will be an absolutely massive asset to our coverage and viewers will benefit from the insights of the most famous name in the sport.
“Together with our existing team AP will help take Channel 4’s racing coverage to new levels. We are absolutely thrilled to welcome him to Channel 4.”
