The deal was agreed between Racing UK, the UK’s leading horseracing channel, and mobile phone company Vodafone, title sponsor of the race.
Live coverage of all races at this year's Vodafone Derby Festival will be made available to Vodafone live! with 3G customers in the UK and Northern Ireland.
All 14 races at the two-day meeting at Epsom Downs will be available to view. Coverage will concentrate on a 'live' window beginning one minute prior to the start of each race and ending one minute after the horses have passed the winning post, at a charge of £0.50p (fifty pence) per day.
Racing UK is wholly owned by 31 of the UK’s top racecourses and was formed in March 2004 following the collapse of attheraces.
The channel is currently working in partnership with Sportev, the wireless sports agency which also has contracts with the FA Premier League and England Rugby, to develop a mobile solution that will deliver video of all races to allow punters to bet from their mobile phones.
Simon Bazalgette, executive chairman of Racing UK, said: “Horseracing provides ideal content for mobile-phone operators because of the relatively short duration of races and we believe the roll-out of 3G will create a major revenue opportunity going forwards for Racing UK’s shareholders.”
