Britain’s First Female Race Commentator

It comes as something of a surprise to find out that as yet there are no British female race commentators. This peculiar situation seems set to change and many would be tempted to say ‘not before time’. The racing community has plenty of lady owners, trainers and admittedly at the moment just a handful of lady jockeys, but why no commentators?

Racegoers are pretty evenly made up of male and female punters and the ladies seem just as keen as the men to have a flutter. The advent of online betting means you can now place a bet without having to leave the comfort of your own home and this overcomes the reluctance some ladies had about entering what was perceived as a very male dominated preserve, the old style betting shop. Modern bookies shops have certainly made a great effort to appeal to both sexes but it is online betting that has introduced many, both male and female, to the thrills of the racecourse. With so much participation by the ladies in other areas of the sport, it’s something of a mystery as to why they are not represented amongst commentators. Is it an oversight?, a glass ceiling?, or are the ladies not interested?, never mind, move over boys the girls are coming!.

lovetheraces.com, to their credit, recently launched a nationwide search to find a suitable lady to become the countries first female, ‘voice of racing’. The competition received nearly 50 entries [so the ladies are interested] and required a recorded race commentary from the budding race callers to be submitted. The commentaries were then judged, with the best going through to a test in front of commentators Richard Hoiles and John Hunt. The semi-finals of the competition will take place at Bath racecourse on Saturday 11th June and Doncaster racecourse on Sunday 12th June. The final eight contestants will each commentate a race and the racegoers will be asked to vote for their favourite via text. The final will be held at Ascot on 24th July when the ladies will fight it out for the top prize.

Twenty four women have now been shortlisted, amongst them Hayley Moore, sister of Derby winning champion jockey Ryan Moore. Also in the running are Emily Jones a leading amateur jockey and race pundit, Sophie Monkman a marketing assistant at York racecourse and former professional jump jockey Sophie Mitchell. The two finalists will each call a race at Ascot and the winner will receive a cheque for £2,500. and much more importantly, a place on the racing industries commentary training course. I’m not sure how long it takes to train a racing commentator but maybe by this time next year the first fully fledged lady will be taking a seat in the previously, male only commentators box.