Sky Sports Racing to launch on 1st January 2019 with Alex Hammond

Alex Hammond, who has spent over 15 years at Sky Sports News, will be the lead presenter on Sky Sports Racing when the channel goes live on 1st January 2019.

She will be joined by former Group 1-winning jockey Freddy Tylicki on a regular basis as a guest analyst.

Also joining Tylicki for regular race analysis are Josh Apiafi, the former head of the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA), and Jamie Lynch, who is leaving his post as Chief Correspondent at Timeform to become Sky Sports Racing’s Senior Racing Analyst.

“I’ve loved horses since I was a child and to be returning to my roots to present racing on Sky is my dream job,” said Hammond.

“I’ve been part of the Sky family for over 15 years and know we will bring superb quality to the racing coverage. I’m incredibly excited about the future and can’t wait to begin on January 1, 2019.”

In addition to the new team members are a number of familiar faces from At The Races, which include Gina Bryce, Kevin Blake, Matt Chapman, Mick Fitzgerald, Luke Harvey, Hayley Moore and Jason Weaver.

Sky Sports Racing viewers will be able to watch over 200 French Fixtures; the Breeders’ Cup, Kentucky Derby and US Triple Crown; the Melbourne Cup Carnival; and all 88 fixtures from the Hong Kong Jockey Club, exclusive to Sky Sports Racing.

Meetings from Ascot, Chester and Bangor-on-Dee Racecourses will be broadcast from next March after Sky reached several high-profile broadcast rights agreements.