2024 Tipstar: Search for a Broadcaster competition

Liam Firkin and Sharon Hamilton were crowned joint winners of our Tipstar Search For a Broadcaster competition after a superb final at Cheltenham on Friday afternoon.

Since first staging Tipstar, in 2014, there had never previously been a dead-heat. But our judging panel found it impossible to split the pair, who excelled with their knowledge and delivery in the company of Nick Luck and Dan Barber.

Our six finalists all had a race to preview and review on the card. James Woods, Dan Walsh, Joel Rees and Lee Gibson also did themselves proud and made life extremely tough for the judges, with Joel throwing in a winning tip (King Turgeon) for good measure.

However, it was Liam, a 32-year-old Sales Manager for an automation and robotics company, and Sharon, a 54-year-old Marketing Director for a firm of Auctioneers, who shared the spoils.

Liam was excellent with his coverage of the second race on the card, the SSS Super Alloys Novices' Chase, won by Jango Baie.

Sharon had the last of our six races to cover, the Glenfarclas Crystal Cup Cross Country Handicap Chase, and was similarly flawless.

Luck said: "It was such a strong competition. Liam and Sharon were absolutely brilliant in their own different ways. And the good news is that we will be seeing more of them on Racing TV."

The pair will now split the winner’s cheque for £1,000 plus the trophy. Their others prizes include: 

- A live shift on Racing TV 

- A day behind the scenes at Racing TV headquarters in Ealing 

- Six-week vlog on Racing TV’s social media platforms 

- An interview on Raceday TV 

- A guest appearance on The Friday Club 

- 12-month Racing TV subscription and a bundle of Racing TV merchandise 

- Opportunity to preview the racing at a Racing TV club day (including free tickets for family and friends) 

Commiserations to the beaten finalists, and many thanks to everyone who took part in recent weeks. 

The draw has been done for this year's Tipstar: Search for a Broadcaster final, and here are the races each finalist will be covering:

JAMES WOODS: Race 1 - British EBF 'National Hunt' Novices' Hurdle - (12.10pm)

LIAM FIRKIN: Race 2 - SSS Super Alloys Novices' Chase - (12.40pm)

DAN WALSH: Race 3 – Catesby Estates Handicap Hurdle - (1.15pm)

JOEL REES: Race 4 – Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Coming Soon Handicap Chase – (1.50pm)

LEE GIBSON: Race 5 – Unibet Middle Distance Chase Series Veterans' Handicap Chase - (2.25pm)

SHARON HAMILTON: Race 6 - Glenfarclas Crystal Cup Cross Country Handicap Chase - (3.00pm)

Each finalist will join Nick Luck and Dan Barber live on Racing TV at Cheltenham on Friday, December 13 to preview and review their allocated race. Don't forget to tune into Racing TV to watch how the final unfolds! 

We wish all six finalists the very best of luck.

⭐️ Liam Firkin

⭐️ Lee Gibson

⭐️ Sharon Hamilton

⭐️ Joel Rees

⭐️ Dan Walsh

⭐️ James Woods

A huge congratulations to Liam Firkin, Lee Gibson, Sharon Hamilton, Joel Rees, Dan Walsh and James Woods who will all go head-to-head during the final at Cheltenham on Friday, December 13, LIVE on Racing TV.  

Each finalist will preview and review a race each (a live draw will be done on Racing TV a few days ahead of the final to determine which race each finalist will be covering) with the presenter and pundit on duty for Racing TV at Cheltenham and will bid to impress the judges with their knowledge and expertise.

And the winner will be crowned on the day of the final once the judges have made their decision. We wish all six chasing the Tipstar: Search for a Broadcaster crown the very best of luck, and make sure you tune in to watch how they fare! 

The winner will receive £1,000, a LIVE shift on Racing TV, a 12-month Racing TV subscription, a huge bundle of Racing TV merchandise and much more.

We would also like to say a big thank you to everyone who entered this year’s competition and took part in the three Challenges. We did plan to reveal the finalists earlier this week, but the decision proved extra tough for our judges who were impressed with the calibre of entries, which certainly made choosing the final six harder. 

If you entered this year and didn’t get through, please get involved again next year. We cannot tell you how close a lot of the entrants were to making the final six this year.

Make sure you are watching #TheFridayClub on Racing TV this evening as the six finalists for this year's Tipstar: Search for a Broadcaster competition will be revealed! The show is free to view from 6.15pm

Thanks to everyone who has entered our popular competition. We did plan on revealing the finalists earlier this week, but our judges had a huge amount of entries to watch, and choosing the final six caused a few headaches! It certainly was a tricky decision.

For those who haven't been following the competition, there were three Challenges to enter this year, and we received hundreds of entries. Our judges were also impressed with the calibre of the entries. 

The six finalists will go head-to-head at Cheltenham on Friday, December 13, live on Racing TV.

And this year's winning prizes includes £1,000, a live shift on Racing TV, a free 12-month RTV subscription, a huge bundle of RTV merchandise plus much more!

And we are on the lookout for our next horse racing expert…. 

The competition is open to everyone, and plenty of familiar names who have entered previous Tipstar competitions have gone on to secure a career in the racing media, so now is the opportunity to showcase YOUR knowledge and expertise to us, as well as your brilliant personality.We also have some extra exciting news - this year's final will be held at Cheltenham on Friday, December 13...LIVE on Racing TV! 

There are three challenges to enter this year before six finalists are chosen, and they will each preview and review a race with a Racing TV presenter and pundit at the home of jump racing.

And once again, this year's winner will receive an incredible bundle of prizes which includes a LIVE shift on Racing TV plus £1,000! We must also stress that that this is NOT a tipping competition, but a competition to test your broadcasting skills. All entrants must also be 18 or over, and we wish everyone the very best of luck.

Please ensure each video you send in is no longer than 60 seconds plus please record them landscape style, not portrait! 

The earlier you send in your videos, the more likely they are to be shown on the channel plus on Racing TV's website and social media pages.

-A video (no longer than 60 seconds) revealing one horse to follow for the 2024-25 Jumps season.

Post your entry on X using #Tipstar2024 (please remember to tag in @RacingTV) or email [email protected]

We want you to tell us why we should follow your chosen horse this season. Did they show lots of promise last season? Are they well handicapped? Does their pedigree suggest they are going to flourish this season? Has the form they produced worked out well? Basically, you need to convince us to add your horse to follow to our Racing TV Trackers! 

Deadline for entries: 12pm on Saturday, October 19.

Example video: 

-A preview video (no longer than 60 seconds) for any race on Racing TV on Saturday, October 26.

Post your entry on X using #Tipstar2024 (please remember to tag in @RacingTV) or email [email protected]

For this challenge, we expect you to show off as much of your knowledge as possible in 60 seconds. You could include notable stats and trends, how you think the race will develop, why a leading contender could prove vulnerable and, of course, which horse you think will win the race. 

Deadline for entries: 12pm on Saturday, October 26.

Example video: 

-A review video (no longer than 60 seconds) for any race on Racing TV on Saturday, October 26.

Post your entry on X using #Tipstar2024 (please remember to tag in @RacingTV) or email [email protected]

Showcasing your analytical skills by discussing the winner of the race, plus anything else you think was noteworthy from the contest, is essential here. You could also reveal an eye-catcher from the race that you think is worth following.

Deadline for entries: 8pm on Wednesday, October 30.

Example video:

To follow...

You will need to be free to attend Cheltenham Racecourse on Friday, December 13! Each finalist will be given a race each to preview and review live on the channel with a Racing TV presenter and pundit who will be based outside the weighing room, and a live draw will take place in advance that week to determine which race each finalist will be covering. 

Each finalist will also be interviewed on the channel beforehand to tell us more about themselves, and the winner of this year's competition, who will be chosen by our expert team of judges, will be revealed after racing on the same day. 

-A live shift on Racing TV

-£1,000

-A day behind the scenes at Racing TV HQ 

-Six-week vlog on Racing TV’s social media platforms

-An interview on Raceday TV

-A guest appearance on The Friday Club

-12-month Racing TV subscription

-A bundle of Racing TV merchandise

-Opportunity to preview the racing at a Racing TV club day (including free tickets so you can bring your family and friends along with you!)

-The Tipstar trophy plus a huge cheque! 

2014 - Richard Smith - @tipstarchamp

2015 - Nick Seddon - @NickSeddon_

2016 - Harry Allwood - @harry_allwood

2017 - Chris Baker - @chrisbaker1984

2020 – Ross Millar - @rosscojmill

2022 - Dan Overall - @OverandClear

2023 - Katie Midwinter - @KatieMidwinter

2024 - ?