Channel 4 Racing presenter biographies - Channel 4 - Info - Press
Channel 4 Racing presenter biographies
13 Nov 2013
Clare Balding OBE (Presenter)
Born: 29th January 1971
Winner of the BAFTA Special Award and RTS Presenter of the Year Award for her expert coverage of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Clare Balding is one of Britain's leading broadcasters.
Clare has worked in radio since she left university in 1994, and has been presenting sports on television since 1998. She has worked on five Olympic Games, four Paralympics and three Winter Olympics, alongside presenting horse racing for Channel 4. Clare can turn her hand to any sport - from racing to rugby league, swimming, golf or tennis – and is equally at home on radio or TV, and is renowned for her versatility and reliability.
Clare has hosted walking series Ramblings on Radio 4 since 1999, and in 2010 she also presented Britain By Bike on BBC4 and Crufts for the BBC and More4. She has worked on Britain's Hidden Heritage and Countryfile. In December 2012, Clare became the host of BBC1’s ‘Britain’s Brightest’. This year, Clare has presented two documentaries around horses - Secrets of the Suffragettes for Channel 4 and The Queen: A Passion for Horses for BBC One.
An expert at live major event, Clare has presented the Diamond Jubilee, the Lord Mayor’s Show, the Trooping the Colour, BBC Sports Personality of the Year and New Year’s Eve, but she also has an uncanny knack of getting the most out of interview subjects - as illustrated by her work on Radio 2’s ‘Good Morning Sunday’. She is an experienced host of awards ceremonies, a lively and amusing after dinner speaker and an authoritative voiceover artist.
Clare has been part of BAFTA Award-winning programmes, has been named RTS Sports Presenter of the Year, Sports Presenter of the Year at the TRIC Awards, Racing Journalist of the Year, awarded the special achievement award at the Women in Film and Television awards for her work on the Olympics and Paralympics and been praised for “perfect presentation” by the judges of the Broadcast Awards. Clare has also been honoured for her presenting with awards from Attitude Magazine, Red Magazine, Tatler and the Horserace Writers Association. She has a proven track record of creative input and practical effort in every programme on which she works.
In February 2013 she was assessed as being one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 and also won the award for Sports Presenter at the Television and Radio Industries Club Awards.
A bestselling author, Clare's first book, My Animals and Other Family was published in 2012. Based on her childhood growing up in an unusual household, it was published to critical acclaim and went onto win biography of the year at the National Book Awards.
Racing interests: Balding's father is Ian Balding who trained champion thoroughbred Mill Reef . Her brother, Andrew Balding, became the licensed racehorse trainer at Park House in January 2003. From 1988 to 1993, Balding was a leading amateur flat jockey and Champion Lady Rider in 1990.
Clare and her partner, Alice Arnold live in West London.
Nick Luck (Presenter)
Nick presents Channel 4 Racing and The Morning Line on Channel 4 .
He appeared on Racing UK at its launch in 2004 after 18 months as part of the original attheraces team and was a presenter on its inaugural broadcast before going to host all major events for the channel over an eight year period.
He made his Channel 4 debut later that year, continuing to work in a variety of roles on the programme until his appointment as lead presenter of Channel 4’s Morning Line in 2010.
Nick is an integral member of the new 2013 Channel 4 Racing team, working closely alongside Clare Balding on key events as well as fronting the weekly Saturday afternoon coverage. He continues to present Morning Line and has been voted Racing Broadcaster of the Year four times.
Nick's other work includes reporting on 8 Breeders' Cups (3 Emmy Nominated & 3 Eclipse awards) for US Networks ESPN & NBC, hosting the International coverage of the 'Arc' for Equidia, and contributing to a raft of publications, including Evening Standard, The Guardian  and Sunday Telegraph.
Nick has interests in horses with John Quinn and Nick Gifford.
Nick lives in South West London with his wife Laura (a professional singer) and their daughter.
Jim McGrath (Pundit)
Born: 22nd May 1955
Jim McGrath has been hooked on racing since watching the 1963 Grand National won by Ayala on TV at his grandparents’ house in Edinburgh.
Having failed to realise his boyhood ambition of becoming a jockey (a summer’s trial in 1971 at Bill Marshall’s stable in Whitsbury left him in no doubt he wouldn’t make the grade), Jim joined the Timeform Organisation in Halifax in 1974, and from then until his departure in 2009, fulfilled umpteen roles from tea-boy to chairman.
In 1980, Jim got the chance to join the ITV Racing team and, four years later, became part of the original C4 Racing line up.
Jim has also held various roles on official racing bodies/committees and is currently a trustee of BHEST (British Horseracing Standards Education Trust).
One way or another, Jim has been involved with Macmillan race-day, held at York in June, for thirty-five years, the meeting, collectively, having raised more than £5 million for charities, principally Macmillan Cancer Support.
A successful owner/breeder, Jim currently has horses in training with Richard Fahey, Mark Johnston and Clive Cox.
Mick Fitzgerald (Pundit)
Born: 10th May 1970
Mick’s race riding career spanned 20years and is best known for his long standing role as stable jockey to Lambourn trainer Nicky Henderson .
Big Race Wins Include: The Grand National on Rough Quest (1996) and the Cheltenham Gold Cup & King George on See More Business (1999).  He was leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival in 1999 and 2000.  Mick came back from injury to win the 2005 Hennessy Gold Cup on Trabolgan . In the 2008 Grand National Mick suffered serious spinal injuries following a fall when riding L'Ami which resulted in his retirement on 7 August 2008 due to his injury, aged 38.
Mick instantly found a new role in sports media working for various outlets before joining the Channel 4 Racing presenting team in 2013.  He still reports for attheraces. He is still closely involved in racing and continues to manage racing syndicates. Mick Fitzgerald lives in Berkshire with his three children and wife, Chloe.
Graham Cunningham (Pundit)
Born: 12th December 1960
Graham Cunningham's interest in racing was sparked in the 1970's by the fact that his school was across the road from Haydock Park.
A Law graduate, he decided to "give it a year" when offered a job by Timeform in 1986 and has been writing and talking about the sport ever since.
Graham left Timeform to join the Sporting Life in 1995 and has since worked as a staff reporter on the Racing Post and the London Evening Standard before going freelance to work as on-screen analyst for attheraces, Racing UK and TVG in America.
He has continued to contribute to Racing UK since joining the Channel 4 team in January 2013 and also writes a Friday column for the Racing Post.
Alice Plunkett (Reporter)
Born: 5th January 1973
As a former eventer, Alice is notably the only female jockey to have ridden at both Badminton Horse Trials and over the Grand National course in 1993 at Aintree. She went on to ride winners on the flat, over hurdles and fences. In her eventing career, Alice represented Great Britain at the European Three Day Event Championships under 21. Alice gave up competitive riding in 2000 but has since ridden in a charity race at the Cheltenham Festival
Plunkett has been on the main Channel 4 Racing team since 2001. In recent years she had been one of the lead presenters for jump racing.
She has also been the Radio 5 Live equestrian correspondent and has hosted equestrian events for Eurosport , Sky Sports and Horse and Country. She has also presented two series of equestrian interest show Horse Tails on Animal Planet .
She is married to eventer William Fox-Pitt and has two boys, Oliver and Thomas, and a daughter Phoebe.
Emma Spencer (Reporter)
Born: 26th May 1978
Emma joined the main Channel 4 Racing team in 2001 and in recent years as one of the lead presenters for the channel’s flat racing coverage. She has presented horseracing from all the major festivals including the Derby, Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood plus a feast of international contest such as the Dubai World for the last six years, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the Melbourne Cup and the best of racing from India.
Earlier in her career, Emma was twice champion amateur flat jockey and still rides on occasion in charity races. Daughter of former trainer Lynda Ramsden, Emma has been around the horseracing scene all her life and was formerly married to champion flat jockey Jamie Spencer. Emma is renowned for her sense of style and is currently the Face of Ladbrokes.
Emma is a very personable, experienced and popular presenter and public speaker. She has hosted numerous awards ceremonies, charity dinners and corporate events.
Emma lives in Newmarket with her three children.
Rishi Persad
Born: 26th May 1973
Rishi began his broadcasting career in May 2002 when attheraces was first launched. This was followed by a move to Racing UK where he introduced their first show in May 2004 from Kempton Park Racecourse and has continued to work for Racing UK since that time.
Rishi’s debut terrestrial appearance was for Channel 4 Racing at Haydock Park in January 2003 which saw him join the channel’s award winning coverage of that year's Cheltenham Festival before being recruited by BBC Sport in the spring of 2003.
Since then, Rishi has worked at some of the greatest sporting events in the world including the Olympic Games in Athens, Beijing and London, the Commonwealth Games in Delhi 2010, the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean and the sub-continent in 2011, Wimbledon Tennis Championships for the past decade and recently joined the BBC's golf team covering the Ryder Cup at Medinah in 2012, the US Masters at Augusta and The Open at Muirfield this past year.
Horse racing remains closest to his heart where Rishi has been fortunate enough to cover many of the major international racing events including the Breeders Cup at Arlington in 2002 and Santa Anita in 2003, Hong Kong International Meeting in 2004, The Dubai World for the past 12 years, The Prix De L'Arc De Triomphe, The Grand National, Cheltenham Festival, Derby Festival, Royal Ascot and QIPCO British Champions Day.
Rishi’s family bred and raced thoroughbreds in the West Indies and that is where his interest for the sport began. This was fostered by his father who encouraged Rishi to spend more time studying form and pedigree than anything academic!
Rishi lives in Surrey with his partner Holly and daughter Evie.
Gina Bryce (Reporter)
Born: 11th May 1983
Bryce was always keen to work in racing and, after graduating with a degree in modern languages from Cambridge in 2006, won a place on the Darley Flying Start training course.
She went on to learn about all aspects of the industry during the two-year course, completing valuable placements on Stud Farms and in Training Stables in England, Ireland, America, Australia and the UAE.
She graduated from the course in the summer of 2008 and soon after started working as a presenter for attheraces before taking up a role on the Channel 4 team in January 2013.
Gina has written on a freelance basis for the Racing Post, The Irish Field and Thoroughbred Owner Breeder magazine and while boasting a broad racing knowledge she specializes particularly on the bloodstock side of the industry.
Tanya Stevenson (Betting Reporter)
Born: 23rd September 1970
Form an early age Tanya was taught tic-tac, how to clerk and price-up through working with her family on-course bookmaking business, and stood at many racecourses and greyhound tracks such as Aintree, York, Sandown, Goodwood to Canterbury and Sittingbourne. This led to a role with SIS and being responsible for sending all the betting shows from racecourses and greyhound tracks on BAGS (Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service) round the country.
In 1997 Sky Sports gave Tanya her first introduction into live television and its demands when she was appointed Floor Manager on the Greyhound programme. Tanya was able to merge her love of betting with a betting researcher and co-ordinator role for Channel 4 Racing in 1998 – researching all betting statistics and prices ahead of live shows.
March 31st 2001 say Tanya make an unprompted screen debut at Haydock Park brought about by technical failure. From Easter Saturday 2001, Tanya regularly appeared in the betting ring as a pundit interpreting the exchanges and market movers.
Over the years, Tanya’s role has grown seeing her regularly interview race analysts and Clerks of the Courses on The Morning Line.
Tanya writes a Saturday tipping column for the Daily Record and is a weekly columnist for the Racing Post greyhound section. She also contributes a regular blog for Racing UK online.
Tanya is a keen sports enthusiast with an avid passion for NFL, cricket, golf and darts. She also maintains her strong association with greyhound racing and continues to judge Betting Shop Manager of the Year.
Simon Holt (Commentator)
Born: 18th April 1964
Simon is Channel 4 Racing’s principal commentator.  Whilst working as a reporter for The Sporting Life, he started his racecourse commentating career in 1987 and made his TV debut for Channel 4 in 1994.  He rose through the commentating ranks quickly and was race-calling for the SIS feed for the Grand National in 1990.
From the beginning of 1995 he was heard regularly, sometimes as a race commentator but sometimes in the now defunct job of betting and results reader. He replaced Raleigh Gilbert as Channel 4's second commentator, calling the first part of the race at tracks such as Newmarket before handing over to Graham Goode in the grandstand. Goode at that time remained Channel 4's main race commentator, but in the late 1990s Simon covered more and more races such as the Whitbread Gold Cup and the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown Park .
Simon became the main commentator from the beginning of 2000, and his first meeting as Channel 4's senior race-caller came at Uttoxeter for the 'new millennium's first race-meeting'. As of 2013, Channel 4 become the sole rights holder to terrestrial racing that sees Simon call the likes of Cheltenham Festival, the Dubai World Cup, the Grand National, Derby, Royal Ascot, the Arc and many more prestigious racing meetings. He has also remained a regular racecourse commentator throughout this time, often working at his local tracks, Lingfield Park, Plumpton, Brighton and Fontwell Park .
In October 2010, Simon commentated on the bowls competition at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi for the BBC. Simon owns a racehorse called Slip Sliding Away with trainer Peter Hedger that won at Goodwood late September.
Richard Hoiles (Commentator)
Born: 7th February 1966
A qualified accountant by profession Richard got his first broadcast role commentating on racecourses in 1992.
Richard has worked extensively overseas including a two year contract for the Hong Kong Jockey Club (1997-1999) as well as calling races in Japan, Canada, Dubai and even a Spanish Derby.
Commentaries in this country include 15 Royal Ascots, 12 Epsom Derby’s along with multiple Cheltenham Festivals and Grand Nationals (being part of Channel 4’s commentary team for Aintree in 2013) and in 2012 achieved the unique feat of being the Racecourse Commentator for every Classic in the same year.
Presenting roles include hosting the first afternoon programme on the original Racing Channel in 1995, Sky’s The Winning Post, and regularly for both At the Races and Racing UK. A regular presenter of the Dubai Carnival coverage since its inception in 2004 Richard is lead presenter for the World Feed of the Dubai World Cup which attracts the biggest audience of any single racing programme and was shortlisted for the ‘Best Live Sports Programme’ at the 2013 Association for International Broadcasting Awards.
Richard lives in Berkshire with his wife Sarah and two nocturnal young sons.
Tom Lee (Betting Reporter)
Born: 16th August 1980
Channel 4 Racing's home-grown talent Tom Lee has been part of the team for more than a decade, joining the backroom staff as a fresh faced 21-year-old back in the summer of 2002, working on the production team as an ever present member for six years, before graduating to an on-screen debut in the betting ring in 2007.
Tom's love of National Hunt racing stems from his family background - father Richard is well a known Jumps Trainer, who in recent times has enjoyed high profile success in races such as the Coral Welsh National - live on Channel 4 for the first time this winter!
As well as working for Channel 4 Racing Tom works in the family business, and attributes much of his deep knowledge of Jump racing, form and betting to spending over 100 days a year at the races in various capacities: presenter, assistant trainer and stable lad among them!
Previously he worked for major betting organisations bet365 and Betfred, and as you may have seen on the Morning Line is a fluent speaker of both French & German.
Tom combines his Channel 4 role with a similar position in Ireland, representing national broadcaster RTE on their horse racing coverage, at major festival meetings such as Galway, Fairyhouse, Leopardstown and Punchestown.
He says his best ever bet came on day two of the 2011 Cheltenham Festival, when a treble involving First Lieutenant, Sizing Europe & Carlito Brigante came to fruition.
An avid sport and music fan, Tom splits his time between the family stables on the Welsh border, his home in Manchester, and Dublin.