Fly-on-the-wall sports documentaries have exploded in popularity in recent times, with Formula 1, tennis, golf, rugby, and more hitting our screens with behind-the-scenes shows. Horse racing was a little late to the TV party, but there has been progress in the past couple of years.
2024 saw Champions: Full Gallop arrive on ITVX and provide a look behind the British National Hunt curtain. Well received by critics and viewers alike, the show shuffled several riders into the spotlight, none more so than “Hollywood” Harry Cobden.
Hot on the heels of the British jumps racing offering, Spring 2025 sees the launch of the next racing docuseries off the production line. The action switches from the jumps to the flat in Race For The Crown and relocates to the USA. How familiar British viewers are with the characters and runners on the show will depend upon how closely they follow the US racing scene. However, the man at the centre of the opening episode will need no introduction.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
It will come as no surprise to UK fans that a certain Frankie Dettori makes an early appearance in the series. However, whilst a superstar on these shores, Dettori is comparatively unknown to US racing enthusiasts. If Race For The Crown proves to be a hit, the evergreen Italian can expect that stateside profile to increase significantly.
Initially sought after to provide insightful commentary, Frankie’s decision to relocate to the US saw the 54-year-old quickly earn a promotion to a familiar spot on centre stage. First appearing quaffing champagne on a rented yacht, the series follows Frankie through his early forays on the US Racing scene, with one of the highlights of the early episodes centring around his victorious spin on Inspiral at the Breeders’ Cup Meeting.
“The day will come when I’m not wanted anymore. It’s not you wanting to retire, it’s the sport that retires you,” says Frankie. It seems that the sport wants the man behind the Magnificent Seven for a little while longer yet, but it’s not all about the affable Italian. Far from it.
Road to the Kentucky Derby Provides the Narrative
In US racing, events don’t come any bigger than the Kentucky Derby. As a 1m2f flat event run on dirt, the race has little in common with the Aintree Grand National concerning the demands it places on its competitors. However, much like the Merseyside marvel, it is the one race of the year when racing explodes beyond the confines of the sport and into the mainstream. As such, it is the race everyone wants to win.
Beginning at the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Meeting, the six-part series plots a course to the Churchill Downs extravaganza before – as the title suggests – continuing to the fellow Triple Crown events of the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.
Warren Smith, Head of Sports and Factual at production company Box To Box, promises “explosive” characters and storylines along the way. Featuring a cast of stars including bombastic owners “Mike From Queens” Repole, key rival John Stewart, and Jules Iaverone – who likes to contact the spirit world to assess the chances of her runners – that “explosive” claim is easy to believe.
The Latest Hit for Box to Box
How big a hit Race For The Crown becomes remains to be seen. However, the series certainly has the right company behind the wheel. Before venturing onto the North American Racing scene, Box To Box worked wonders in increasing the profile of Formula 1 thanks to the mega-hit Drive To Survive series, with Tour De France: Unchained and Full Swing proving similarly popular with fans of cycling and golf.
At a time when racing could do with a boost in profile, the sport will keep its fingers crossed that Race For The Crown can make a positive impact on the 200 million+ Netflix subscribers.