ITV's reported bid to bring Champions League football back to terrestrial TV has caused concern among the horse racing fraternity.
UEFA recently sent the tender out to interested parties for the period from 2021-24, with ITV and Sky Sports understood to both be keen to recapture the broadcast rights of Europe’s elite competition.
The pair will compete with current rights holders BT Sport, who extended their deal two years ago to exclusively broadcast Europe's top club competition until 2021 in a deal worth £1.18billion.
And the Daily Mail has claimed that ITV will seemingly prioritise this bid, which could see them offer to broadcast a round or two of European fixtures.
However, ITV do not have a "limitless pot" and there are concerns that the channel's racing coverage could suffer a huge blow.
ITV have been in discussions to extend their current deal for another three years for a number of months but are yet to finalise a new 2021-2023 agreement.
The offer, believed to be between £30m and £40m, is yet to be signed off due, with the Mail going on to claim that Ascot chiefs are delaying the situation, while Jockey Club chief Delia Bushell has taken interest in ongoing talks.
ITV and Sky previously held the joint-rights for the Champions League, alternating match days for terrestrial and subscription TV, but were outdone by BT's eye-watering bid four years ago.
ITV also lost rights to the highlights show in 2017, which BT Sport now boast, although BT have made clips and highlights available for free on social media.
And while the return of a terrestrial partner would be a huge boost to the Champions League, racing fans are understandably concerned about the sport's future.
