Ian Bartlett is a horse racing commentator and occasionally was an analyst for the BBC. [1] He has also commentated for Channel 4 Racing.
Bartlett has always been associated with his role at Aintree. He commentated for SIS's feed of their Grand National coverage from 1998 to 2001. (Except 2000, where the BBC's commentary team gave live pictures and commentary for SIS). For the BBC's television coverage of the Grand National, from 2004 up to and including the 2012 race after which the BBC lost the rights, Bartlett commentated on four sections of the 4½-mile steeplechase, from the 1st to 5th fence, 10th to 12th, 17th to 21st and 26th to 28th. It wasn't expected any BBC commentators would move to Channel 4 but Bartlett did join Channel 4 and started commentating on the Grand National at Aintree for Channel 4 in 2013 and joined Richard Hoiles and lead commentator Simon Holt in the commentary box. He also joined Mick Fitzgerald, Clare Balding and Rishi Persad in moving from the BBC to Channel 4. While working for Channel 4's Grand National coverage, he was stationed out in the country picking up the commentary from the fifth fence to the tenth, before handing back over to Simon Holt. During this stint, he runs the viewers over the action over most of the signature fences in the race, including Becher's Brook and the Canal Turn. In 2017 Bartlett continued his association with the Grand National when ITV took over the broadcasting rights, he continued to cover the signature fences out in the country until he finished commentating on the Grand National after the 2022 running.
Also known by his racing peers as Barty, he is known for his love of Veuve and claims that his Mastermind specialist subject would be the road network of the United Kingdom as he drives in excess of 40,000 miles per year.
Bartlett also counts comedy duo Hale & Pace amongst his closest friends after working with them on the television show Jobs for the Boys .
Ian Bartlett's terrestrial television Grand National commentary posts
•2004 - 2009 (BBC)
1st - 4th
17th - 20th
•2010 - 2012 (BBC)
1st - 4th, 10th - Anchor Bridge crossing
17th - 20th, 26th - Anchor Bridge crossing
•2013 - 2016 (Channel 4)
5th - 10th
21st - 26th
•2017 - 2022 (ITV)
5th - 9th
21st - 25th
Channel 4 Racing is the name given to the horse racing coverage on the British television stations Channel 4 and More4.
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The 2001 Grand National was the 154th official running of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 7 April 2001. It went ahead as planned, despite the cancellation of the 2001 Cheltenham Festival, caused by the foot-and-mouth disease crisis.
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Walter Raleigh Willock Gilbert, known as Raleigh Gilbert was a British horse racing commentator active for 40 years.
The 2004 Grand National was the 157th official annual running of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase which took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 3 April 2004 and attracted the maximum permitted field of 40 competitors for total prize money of £600,000 including £348,000 to the winner.
Darren Charles Owen is a horse racing commentator, born 3 June 1967 in St. Asaph, North Wales.
The 2000 Grand National was the 153rd official renewal of the Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree Racecourse in England on 8 April 2000.
The 1998 Grand National was the 151st official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 4 April 1998.
The 1997 Grand National was the 150th official running of the Grand National steeplechase held at Aintree near Liverpool. The race was scheduled to be run on Saturday 5 April 1997, but was postponed by two days to Monday 7 April after a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb threat forced the evacuation of the course.
The 2012 Grand National was the 165th annual renewal of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase, which concluded a three-day meeting which is one of only four held at Aintree throughout the year, took place on 14 April 2012. The maximum permitted field of 40 runners ran the last 4 miles 856 yards (7.220 km) of Aintree's National Course featuring 30 fences, competing for record prize money of £975,000, making it the highest-valued National Hunt race in the United Kingdom.
The 2013 Grand National was the 166th annual running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase, which concluded a three-day meeting, took place on 6 April 2013. The maximum permitted field of 40 runners competed for a share of the £975,000 prize fund, which made the National the most valuable jump race in Europe.
The 2014 Grand National was the 167th annual running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase, which concluded a three-day meeting, took place on 5 April 2014. The maximum permitted field of 40 runners competed for a share of a record £1 million prize fund, which makes the National the most valuable jump race in Europe.
The 2015 Grand National was the 168th annual running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase took place on 11 April 2015, the final day of a three-day meeting. A field of 39 runners competed for a share of the £1 million prize fund, and all returned safely to the stables following the race.
The 2016 Grand National was the 169th annual running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase took place on 9 April 2016, the final day of a three-day meeting. A field of 39 runners competed for a share of a prize fund of £1 million.
The 2017 Grand National was the 170th official running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase over a distance of 4 miles 514 yards (6.907 km) took place on 8 April 2017, the final day of a three-day meeting. A maximum field of 40 runners competed for a share of a prize fund of £1 million.
The 2018 Grand National was the 171st annual running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase was the pinnacle of a three-day festival which commenced on 12 April 2018. The event was sponsored by Randox Health for the second time.
The 2019 Grand National was the 172nd annual running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase was held on 6 April and is the pinnacle of a three-day festival.
The 2021 Grand National was the 173rd annual running of the Grand National horse race, held at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England, on 10 April 2021. The event was once again sponsored by Randox Health, although the name on the race from this year onwards was shortened to simply "Randox". The total prize fund for the race was £750,000, down by £250,000 from the last meeting in 2019.
The 2022 Grand National was the 174th annual running of the Grand National horse race. It took place on Saturday, 9 April 2022, at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. The event was sponsored by Randox Health.