ATR set to be renamed Sky Sports Racing after share sale

At The Races is set to be rebranded as Sky Sports Racing after Sky strengthened its involvement in the horseracing channel by becoming the majority shareholder.

In a deal completed only recently, Sky has purchased some of partner Arena Racing Company's shares in the company, a transaction it is understood has taken Sky's stake to 50.2 per cent from 49.2 per cent.

"We have been long-term partners and investors in At The Races and have decided to strengthen the partnership further by incrementally increasing our shareholding," a spokesman for Sky Sports said.

It is understood the restructure will eventually lead to At The Races becoming Sky Sports Racing, although Sky would not comment on any potential rebrand nor on whether there would be any switch from channel 415 on the Sky platform to a slot nearer to the rest of the Sky Sports portfolio.

Sky regularly screens evening Flat racing on the Winning Post programme during the summer, which is produced by At The Races, and last year stepped in to cover the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe from Chantilly.

At The Races, a joint-venture partnership between BSkyB and Arc, broadcasts live action from 26 racetracks in the UK, including 16 Arc-run venues. It also has exclusive rights to cover racing from Ireland. Its reach extends to more than 12 million UK and Irish homes via digital satellite and cable television.

Arc declined to comment.