South African television viewers will be able to watch both days of the Investec Derby Festival on Dstv’s Supersport 208 channel.
The world’s leading racing festival commences today with the first off at 15h00.
The participation of Young Rascal, owned by South African banker Bernard Kantor, creates interest for local race fans, but nothing quite like the unprecedented media attention in Japan, thanks to the participation of hot favourite Saxon Warrior, whose sire is the Japanese legend, Deep Impact.
Deep Impact (Sunday Silence – Wind In Her Hair)
Deep Impact is a former champion racehorse in Japan, who won seven Grade 1 races, including the Triple Crown. He is now the world’s most expensive advertised sire and stands at Shadai Stallion Station in Japan, where he commands a fee of ¥40m (around £275,000).
Racecourse Media Group (RMG), the UK-based media rights organisation which produces and distributes top-class horseracing around the world, and Jockey Club Racecourses (JCR), owners of Epsom Downs Racecourse, have facilitated widespread coverage in Japan, where Deep Impact has a mammoth following.
The Investec Derby itself will be shown live for the first time on Japan’s specialist horseracing channel the Green Channel, while Saxon Warrior’s performance will be the focus of Sunday’s edition of Good Morning Japan, broadcast on NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai – Japan Broadcasting Corporation). Japan’s only public broadcaster is also filming at Epsom this weekend. The programme regularly attracts an estimated 10 million viewers and should Saxon Warrior win, the story will also be run on NHK’s news bulletins.
Fuji TV, the leading commercial broadcaster in Japan, will be airing a one-hour documentary dedicated to Saxon Warrior’s bid for victory in Britain’s richest race, which is expected to be viewed by a 6 – 8 million audience.
Stephen Wallis, The Jockey Club Group’s International Director, said: “Saxon Warrior’s participation in the Investec Derby has triggered an explosion of media coverage in Japan. The interest is a result of the Japanese’s high regard for the tradition and heritage associated with the race, blended with their fanaticism for Saxon Warrior’s sire, Deep Impact.
“The Japan Racing Association has been a huge help in facilitating the media coverage in Japan, which will result in around 20 million viewers there being able to follow the story of Saxon Warrior’s bid for Investec Derby glory.”
