ITV secures four-year racing deal

has won exclusive rights to broadcast British horse racing fixtures from January 2017 to December 2020.

The Derby, Cheltenham Festival, Grand National and Royal Ascot are amongst the events which will be covered.

The main ITV channel will broadcast horse racing for a minimum of 34 days annually while another 60 days will be covered by ITV4.

The deal with horseracing enhances ITV's portfolio of sports which includes the Tour de France, the French Open, live coverage of England's football team, Six Nations rugby and Euro 2016 this summer

Richard FitzGerald, chief executive of Racecourse Media Group, said: "This is a great opportunity for everyone in the industry to support ITV in jointly promoting the sport and telling the stories throughout the year to as wide an audience as possible."

He added: "The unprecedented level of interest in the tender shows what an attractive proposition the sport is.

"This is reflected in the new deal, which will generate increased revenues for racing."

Niall Sloane, ITV director of sport, said: "ITV is delighted to be the home of British horseracing from 2017 and we are thrilled that the sport has chosen us to be their partners."

Channel 4 will broadcast 91 days of racing this year, concluding with the Challow Hurdle meeting at Newbury on 31 December.