The flat season is now in full swing across the UK and racing fans will be given a treat this Thursday evening as ITV4 broadcasts the Brigadier Gerard Meeting from Sandown the first time.
The fixture is widely considered to be the best evening meeting of the summer and four races will be shown on free-to-air TV in a major boost for the sport.
It will be the first time an evening fixture has been shown on terrestrial TV since the 1990's and it promises to be a treat for fans..
The Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes will be the feature contest of the night and it tends to throw up a top class winner. The 1m2f race is open to horses aged four and above and the recent roll of honour is a top class one with horses like Workforce, Mukhadram and Western Hymn amongst the winners over the past decade.
Entries for the race this week are headlined by Poet's Word who was a Group 3 winner last term, and will be bidding to give Sir Michael Stoute a remarkable 10th win in the contest.
The Henry II Stakes over 2m is the main support with the the Group 3 race a stepping stone towards the Ascot Gold Cup as Big Orange showed last year when using the Sandown race as a launch pad towards the Royal meeting. John Gosden and Frankie Dettori are expected to team up with Weekender set to start a warm order following a comfortable win on seasonal debut at Chelmsford.
As well as the two Group races, the ITV4 coverage will also include two listed affairs with the Heron Stakes (1m) and National Stakes (5f) completely the coverage.
The ITV4 coverage starts at 6.15pm on Thursday 24th May 2018.
ITV Racing will be LIVE at @Sandownpark on @ITV4 on Thursday, May 24th from 6.15pm - featuring the Brigadier Gerard Stakes.
