Many great female horse racing reporters are working in the UK and Ireland. Each offers great expertise and knowledge for all racing fans.
We will name all the best female presenters currently working in horse racing, their backgrounds and why we love them here at British Racecourses.
Find out more about the best female horse racing presenters:
Contents
Francesca Cumani
Francesca Cumani is a horse racing presenter working for ITV Racing and 10 Sport.
She was voted the Best Female Horse Racing Reporter by the British Racecourses community in 2026.
Francesca regularly lives on ITV television discussing ITV’s horse racing tips and ITV Pick 7 Predictions.
Francesca Cumani is the daughter of trainer Luca Cumani; her knowledge of the sport and enthusiasm are unparalleled.
Gina Bryce
Gina Bryce is the leading female presenter on Sky Sports Racing.
Gina is a television and radio presenter specialising in horse racing.
Gina has written freelance for the Racing Post, The Irish Field, and Thoroughbred Owner Breeder magazine. While boasting a broad racing knowledge, she specialises particularly in the bloodstock side of the industry.
She is part of the Channel 4 racing team and a regular face on Sky’s dedicated racing channel, At The Races (ATR).
Here is Gina Bryce interviewing me at the Qatar Racing Club after I won with Flaming Rib, trained by Hugo Palmer.
Known for her colourful, fabulous fashion, Gina Bryce is a great female horse racing presenter. She is hugely knowledgeable and has a great sense of humour.
Alex Hammond
One of the most experienced female presenters in horse racing, Alex Hammond, has provided fans with years of in-depth analysis and interviews with some of the sport’s most prominent figures.
Starting her presenting career at 24, Alex presented The Racing Channel in 1998. She later moved on to Sky Sports, where she would inform the public of racehorse news on “Good Morning Sports Fans”.
Due to her natural success with presenting, Sky Sports would also make her their on-track correspondent, grabbing great interviews with fantastic jockeys and brilliant trainers.
When Sky Sports Racing launched on January 1, 2019, Alex Hammond was chosen as the main presenter due to her natural skills and 15 years of experience working for Sky.
During this period, she also rode as an amateur, competing in 50 flat races.
Currently, Alex Hammond remains the main presenter of Sky Sports Racing and also covers some races on At The Races.
As for her tips, Alex Hammond made the list of the best horse racing tipsters.
Leonna Mayor
Being labelled the ‘world’s sexiest jockey, Leonna Mayor has won the hearts of thousands of racehorse fans.
When Leonna made her debut as a Jockey in 2010, many people expected great things from her. The more she rode, the more confident she became, and this confidence began to show in some big races.
Competing in a total of 26 races, 4 of which she rode the winner, Leonna was on her way to becoming a big-time jockey. However, she would sadly retire in 2013 due to a serious ankle injury that restricted her riding.
Leonna Mayor went into a depression due to this unforeseen circumstance, but something good came of it. Many different TV channels saw Leonna Mayor as a vital target to join their racing teams with natural charm and excellent knowledge of the sport.
With channels like ITV and Sky Sports inviting her to present their racing shows, Leonna began to regain her old self, finding the confidence to even post on Instagram and share with the public about her skin condition.
She now stars on At The Races and appears on ITV Racing. She also does videos and radio commentary for William Hill.
Alice Plunkett
A historic female jockey-turned-presenter, Alice Plunkett’s legacy will never be forgotten in the sport of horse racing.
Starting her career in 1993, Alice competed in some of the UK’s biggest races. She is the only female jockey ever to compete in both the Badminton Horse Trials and over the Grand National course at Aintree. A true legend.
She also represented Great Britain at the European Three-Day Event Championships under-21 and performed very well. Shortly after this, she retired from professional riding in 2000. However, she still competes in charity races at the Cheltenham Festival.
In 2001, Channel 4 offered Plunket the job of presenting their racing show. Her love of horse racing hadn’t waned, so she happily took on the role and stayed with Channel 4 until 2016.
When ITV took over in 2017, Alice remained part of the ITV Racing team, and she has continued to present the show alongside her fellow team members ever since.
Alice Plunkett is a host on ATR and moved across to Racing UK at its inception.
Emma Spencer
Emma Spencer is a former presenter of Channel 4’s horse racing coverage.
Emma joined the main Channel 4 Racing team in 2001 and has presented horse racing from all the major festivals, including:
- The Derby
- Royal Ascot
- Glorious Goodwood
- Dubai World
- The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
- The Melbourne Cup
Emma was a twice-champion amateur flat jockey and still rides on occasion in charity races.
Daughter of former trainer Lynda Ramsden, Emma has been immersed in the horse racing scene her entire life and was formerly married to champion flat jockey Jamie Spencer.
Megan Nicholls
From a horse racing heritage, Megan Nicholls was a top jockey.
Megan Nicholls started her career at a young age. Her dad, Paul Nicholls, is the Champion National Hunt trainer. Megan became an apprentice to her father and received the fantastic training that Paul Nicholls is known for.
Winning some of the most significant events in horse racing, including her brilliant race at Ascot with Knappers Hill for the Grade 2 bumper in 2021, Megan went on to join the Century Club with a total of 110 career wins.
In 2022, Megan announced her retirement from the sport to focus more on her personal life, leaving a massive gap for future jockeys to fill. Her talent was so good that York Racecourse even made her an ambassador.
In 2023, ITV Racing offered Megan the role of presenter on their show, and she accepted it happily. Currently, she is a horse racing pundit for both @itvracing & @racingtv.
Hayley Moore
From jockey to racing presenter, Hayley Moore is a fantastic presenter for the show Sky Sports Racing (previously known as At The Races).
Making her jockey debut in 2012 at Ascot, Haley made a significant impact by winning the race she was in with Redvers. Due to this win, the racing world kept a close eye on her.
With 33 total starts and three winners, Hayley proved that female jockeys can offer as much as male jockeys, paving the way for other females in the sport.
In 2017, Hayley ran her last race with Whinging Willie and retired from the sport shortly after.
However, that wasn’t the end. Sky saw massive potential in adding Hayley Moore to their presenting team for At The Races, and Hayley made her debut in the same year.
Fans know her for her fantastic, in-depth analysis of jockeys’ thoughts and perspectives on the races, but many also know her for the famous clip below of her stopping a loose horse at Chepstow.
Currently, Hayley still works for Sky, presenting the Sky Sports Racing show, where she continues to demonstrate her fantastic personality and provide in-depth analysis of the competition.
Lydia Hislop – TV Presenter
Lydia Hislop is one of the UK’s favourite racing journalists and broadcasters. Admired by readers, viewers, and peers alike, she currently holds the HWPA ‘Broadcaster of the Year’ title, a testament to that.
Lydia Hislop was crowned Broadcaster of the Year for the second time in three years on a successful day for Racing TV.
Hislop is a regular presenter on Racing TV and hosts the popular Road To Cheltenham show with Ruby Walsh.
Adele Mulrennan
If you’re a fan of Go Racing and ITV Racing, then the name Adele Mulrennan should ring a lot of bells.
Ever since she was a child, Adele has been interested in horse racing. Her father regularly took her to some of the most prominent racetracks in the UK.
Once she was old enough, Adele Mulrennan became an apprentice rider for the legendary Dandy Nicholls and won some big races, including the Scottish Sprint Cup with Masta Plasta in 2008.
She competed in over 100 races and rode 12 winners in total. After becoming pregnant, Adele decided to retire from her role as a jockey to spend more time focusing on building a family with her husband, Paul Mulrennan.
After retiring, Adele decided she still wanted to remain involved in the sport and enrolled in media training courses. Once she completed the training, she became a host on Go Racing in Yorkshire in 2017.
With her covering races at York, Catterick, Thirsk, Ripon, Beverley, Wetherby, and Pontefract, it was only a matter of time until ITV Racing recognised her talent and added her to their lineup.
Nowadays, she still hosts Go Racing but also helps the ITV Racing team cover some of the most significant events across the UK.
Charlotte Hawkins
Charlotte Hawkins has covered a wide range of topics in her journalism career, but one topic she is particularly passionate about is horse racing.
Since 2000, Charlotte has been an expert presenter on various news shows across multiple channels. She has worked on some of the biggest news-reading shows, including Five News, Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, and others.
Due to her natural talent in front of the camera, she gained a large fan base, and it didn’t take long for fans to learn about her passion for racing horses.
ITV Racing decided to incorporate her into their team, and in 2017, Charlotte Hawkins made her debut with outstanding success.
In the same year, she also competed in Strictly Come Dancing and A Classic Christmas, attracting even more fans who would tune in to ITV Racing to see their favourite presenter.
To this day, she continues to work with ITV Racing to cover the most significant racing events across the UK and has been offered additional roles in the media. Charlotte Hawkins is one of the best in the industry.
Lucy Verasamy
Weather is a significant factor for horse races, so ITV Racing thought to get one of the best weather experts in the media (Lucy Verasamy) to join their racing team.
After graduating from university with a bachelor’s degree in Geography and working as a meteorologist for the Press Association’s weather centre, Lucy displayed her knowledge. She gave accurate information to the public on the week’s weather.
In 2010, ITV began its relationship with Lucy Verasamy by hiring her for its show “Daybreak”. She would later become the sole weather forecaster in 2012.
During the same year, Lucy left “Daybreak” and became the leading weather forecaster for the ITV channel in general.
After speaking to the ITV bigwigs, Lucy was allowed to use her weather expertise and fascination for horse racing to become the weather expert for ITV Racing.
She still works for ITV Racing, providing viewers with an in-depth view of the weather and its impact on the runners.
Victoria Pendleton
Winner of Olympic gold medals for cycling, training to be a jockey and winning some of the biggest races in the UK, it was only a matter of time until Victoria Pendleton became a presenter for ITV Racing.
Starting her professional cycling career in 2001, Victoria has competed in almost every high-end cycling event and won a majority of them. In total, she has won 14 Gold, 9 Silver, and two bronze medals across all the events she participated in.
After the 2012 London Olympics, Victoria decided to retire from cycling and pursue horse racing, another of her interests.
Trained by the fantastic Paul Nicholls, Victoria managed to compete in a wide variety of different races, even winning at Wincanton. She also finished fifth at the 2016 Foxhunter Chase in Cheltenham, smashing the predictions from the bookies.
After that race, she soon retired. In 2017, ITV Racing offered Victoria Pendleton the role of presenter on their show, allowing her to continue interacting with the sport she loves.
As of now, she still presents the show and provides viewers with an in-depth look into the psychology and fitness required to be a winning jockey.
Summary of Top Female Racing Presenters and ITV Racing Presenters
Our TV screens are blessed with some incredible presenting talent, and all of the ladies on our list are passionate, intelligent, and knowledgeable about racing. This knowledge is invaluable in making TV coverage of racing hugely enjoyable and enthusing the next generation of horse racing fans. Other notable previous presenters include Hayley Turner and Clare Balding!
Thank you, ladies, for elevating and informing us every day!
