'I'm all for it' - Kim Bailey approached about new series on racing

Kim Bailey has been approached about a new racing documentary, the sport's version of Formula One's Drive To Survive, and the Gold Cup-winning trainer is convinced it would do the sport a "huge amount of good" if it were to get the green light.

Members of Netflix's team in Los Angeles and executives from Box To Box Films and Sky Sports Racing are understood to have met with racecourse executives, owners, trainers and racing administrators from both the US and Europe to discuss the project.

Bailey, who appeared on the Racing Post's What A Shout on Friday, thinks more behind-the-scenes footage needs to be shown to a wider public audience and believes a Netflix documentary would be the ideal place to do that.

Bailey said: "Funnily enough, I was approached by someone last weekend to discuss it and they are going to come back to me. I'm all for it. It's fantastic.

"My son has really gotten wrapped up in Grand Prix racing after watching Drive To Survive. It does work and racing needs to see more of what goes on behind the scenes."

Bailey, who completed the Champion Hurdle-Gold Cup double at the 1995 Cheltenham Festival with Alderbrook and Master Oats and is represented by Imperial Aura in the Betfair Chase on Saturday, thinks it is about time that the public perception of racing is changed.

Ride To Survive: racing in talks over potential Netflix series

He said: "We are slightly mythical and people have this aspiration that racing is for the rich people which, of course, it's not. There are many more syndicates now and many more people getting involved in racing.

"One of the things they all love doing is coming to the yard and seeing their horses, going behind the scenes and seeing what happens on a daily basis. I think this is a really good idea. I think it will work and I think it will do the sport a huge amount of good. I'm all for it."

The Box To Box project is not the only one aiming to replicate the popularity of Drive To Survive in racing, with suggestions that Trombone Productions – the company behind the new Frankie Dettori documentary – has teamed up with Equine Productions, among others, with plans for a similar series.

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