R1, a property jointly owned by the Bennett Coleman Group and Procam International, has been created to connect with a greater cross section of society and drive newer audiences to the sport. Apart from bringing about a change in the manner in which horse racing has been presented so far, R1 will look to change the general perception of the sport, thereby attracting millions of fans who have yet to have the opportunity to witness its magic. Apart from coverage on race days, through its various mediums, R1 will focus on the various nuances of the sport and touch upon its history and culture, allowing newer audiences the opportunity to understand the legacy and tradition that surrounds the sport.

This property was announced by Ravi Dhariwal, CEO, Bennett Coleman Group, in the presence of Anil Singh, Managing Director, Procam International; Vivek Jain, Chairman, RWITC; and Atul Pande, CEO, Sports Business, Ten Sports. Other renowned personalities associated with the varied facets of the sport, like Zavareh Poonawala, Imtiaz Sait, Bezan Chenoy and Pesi Shroff, were also present on the occasion.

In its inaugural edition, the property will cover 13 races, including the classics and other key races in Mumbai and Pune, with Kolkata and Hyderabad on the anvil. R1 will also cover the classics in Bangalore, in partnership with the Bangalore Turf Club. The races encapsulated in R1 in Mumbai will include Indian 1000 Guineas on Dec. 11, So Bo Central 2000 Guineas on Dec. 18, Indian Oaks on Jan. 22, 2012, McDowell's Signature Indian Derby on Feb. 5, 2012; and Poonawala Multi-Million on Feb. 26, 2012. In Bangalore, the races will be the Indian Invitation Cup on March 3 and 4, 2012; and the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby on July 1, 2012. The other races are the Pune Derby and Kingfisher Indian St. Ledger in Pune, the Kolkata Derby on Jan. 8, 2012 in Kolkata and the Hyderabad Derby in Hyderabad.

To present the sport in its new avatar, the best have been approached to partner the initiative. The responsibility of taking the telecast to a global level has been taken on by Jim Ramsey, one of the finest producers and directors of horse racing in the world. Ramsey has Channel 4 Racing, the Dubai World Cup, World Series Racing, BBC Racing and the Prix de I'Arc de Triomphe. Ramsey also set up the Race Club Broadcast and the channel, At the Races, as its Executive Producer. Race day action will be hosted by Samir Kocchar, while celebrated former female jockey and presenter Emma Spencer, along with Mohit Lalvani, will form part of the panel in the studio. The content of the live telecast will provided and edited by Cyrus Madan, Enrico Piperno and Chaiti Narula, who have had long associations with the sport in various capacities. In a new development, the presentation ceremony and the winner's interviews will be conducted at the paddock by the panel of hosts/experts, who will have full access to all the key individuals that form part of the winning horse's troupe.

Besides extensive coverage in print, radio and television, R1 will be telecast live through Ten Sports for two hours on each of the 13 race days. There will be promotions across an array of other channels including Ten Action+, Zee Café, Zee Studio, Zee News, Times Now, ET Now, ZOOM and various other regional news channels. For the first time in the history of the sport's coverage, behind the scenes action will be captured, including the jockeys' and stewards' rooms. The live world feed will also include a host of new cameras which will be included in the 20 camera set-up. Lastly, the barrier camera will also be brought back into play to show the moments as the horses get loaded, and the actual start of the race.

To connect with the viewer and make the broadcast more interactive, viewers will be able to participate in various contests and win prizes though the SMS integration planned for this season.