Flat racing fans who want to watch the live action from the Debenhams July Festival at Newmarket (10-12 July) will need to tune into ITV or a free livestream. With eight-and-a-half hours’ live footage on the main ITV channel, ITV Racing will be covering 14 races across the three days of this prestigious meeting, plus there are livestream options to choose from too.
The July Festival plays host to two Group One Flat races; the Falmouth Stakes for fillies and mares on the Friday and the July Cup Stakes on the Saturday.
Cinderella’s Dream is currently 11/4 favourite for the Falmouth Stakes for trainer Charlie Appleby and owners Godolphin and will be ridden by William Buick, while Notable Speech is currently 7/2 favourite to take the July Cup Stakes for the same connections.
Here’s our full TV guide so you don’t miss a moment of the action…
ITV is the place for UK audiences to watch the majority of The July Festival for free on ITVX. There is also an ITVX app that works on almost all smart devices. Just search for the app on any device, phone or console you have.
Ed Chamberlin and Francesca Cumani will host the live TV coverage which runs from 1.30pm to 4pm on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 July and between 1.30pm and 5pm on Saturday 12 July.
They will be joined by former jockey and expert Jason Weaver with Adele Mulrennan, plus other top racing names.
The Opening Show will be presented by Oli Bell on the morning of the July Cup Stakes, previewing the day’s big races between 9.30am and 10.30am.
You can also watch the action live via the pay-for channel, Racing TV.
What time does the July Cup Stakes start?
The July Cup Stakes gets underway at 4.35pm on Saturday 12 July.
How to watch The July Festival from anywhere
Not in the UK right now? You don’t have to miss out on any of the action from The July Festival. ITVX is geo-restricted, meaning it doesn’t usually work outside of the UK, but a VPN is a simple and safe way around this.
A Virtual Private Network will alter your device’s IP address to make it appear to be in a different country, allowing you to access your usual streaming services from anywhere in the world. It’s great for watching racing on the move, and it’s also handy even if you’re watching at home. VPNs are designed with internet security in mind, creating encrypted connections that keep your data safe from third parties and improve streaming speeds by preventing bandwidth ‘throttling’ from your internet service provider.
There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. We’d suggest using a paid-for service such as NordVPN, which is the best VPN in the world according to our colleagues at TechRadar.
Get 76% off, four extra months free and a £50 Amazon gift card with NordVPN TechRadar love NordVPN’s ability to unblock streaming services, its compatibility, and its top-level security. It comes with a big discount in time for The July Festival and a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try it 100% risk-free.
How do I bet during The July Festival?
Online betting companies will be clamouring for your custom during The July Festival so look out for some of their promotional deals for new customers which include everything from a free bet to giving your money back if your horse loses. You’ll need to deposit some money into your betting account, choose a race, select your horse (you could study the form, or you could simply pick your lucky number of favourite colour from the jockeys’ silks) and the type of bet — then get ready to cheer!
Get £10 in FREE bets Want to place a bet during The July Festival? Sign up to Betway and receive a £10 welcome bet.
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad
We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Download and install the VPN of your choice. NordVPN is the one we recommend.
2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access – UK for ITV.
3. Then head over to your streaming service on your device and enjoy the live stream.
(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)
If you fancy having a flutter on a horse race but don’t know where to start, we’re here to help.
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Former web features editor, point-to-point editor and digital racing editor
Gemma is an experienced journalist, who was a member of H&H staff from 2014 to September 2025. She is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at Epsom in August 2018. Gemma’s has reported from numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.
