# Thirsk Sky Bet Sunday Series 2026: ITV Broadcast Preview _Sunday 31 May 2026 — Thirsk hosts a Sky Bet Sunday Series fixture broadcast live on ITV. Seven races on a Sunday-afternoon card, enhanced prize money, and a family-friendly day out in North Yorkshire on the Bank Holiday weekend. Full card preview, where to bet, and what makes this fixture different._ *Source: [https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/thirsk-sky-bet-sunday-series-2026-preview/](https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/thirsk-sky-bet-sunday-series-2026-preview/) · last updated 2026-05-21* **Sunday 31 May 2026. Thirsk Racecourse, North Yorkshire. Sky Bet Sunday Series — Bank Holiday Sunday racing live on ITV.** The 2026 Sky Bet Sunday Series rolls into **Thirsk** for the first time, bringing **seven races, enhanced prize money, and an ITV broadcast slot** to the North Yorkshire course on the Sunday of the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. For Thirsk — a course better known for its Saturday Hunt Cup tradition and steady mid-summer fixture list — the Sunday Series is the biggest single-day commercial event of its 2026 calendar. **Sky Bet's Sunday Series is the headline mid-season programme for British flat racing's middle tier.** Designed to test whether prime-time Sunday afternoon racing can build a competitive audience, it pairs enhanced prize funds with **ITV terrestrial coverage** — the same broadcast slot that Royal Ascot, the Derby and the Cheltenham Festival occupy. For trainers in the middle of the handicap pool, the Sunday Series fixtures are some of the year's highest-value Class 5-to-3 opportunities. For punters watching at home on a Bank Holiday Sunday, it's a quality afternoon's racing without the early-morning Cheltenham or Royal Ascot logistics. **Why Thirsk in 2026:** - **First time hosting the Sunday Series.** Thirsk has been selected by Sky Bet from a pool of mid-tier courses for the 2026 fixture, joining the rotating Sunday Series circuit - **Enhanced prize money.** A representative race on the card — the **Sky Bet Sunday At Thirsk 31st May Book Now Handicap** (Class 5, 4yo+) — carries **£8,000 total prize money** with **£4,187 to the winner**, materially higher than the typical Class 5 mid-week pot - **ITV1 broadcast.** Live coverage on the main ITV terrestrial channel — the most-watched UK flat racing window of any non-festival Sunday - **Bank Holiday Sunday timing.** The Spring Bank Holiday weekend (Sat 30 May — Mon 1 Jun 2026) puts the meeting in the calendar slot where family-day-out attendance peaks - **The Curragh's Irish Guineas weekend just ran** the day before (24 May), so the betting public is racing-engaged and primed for the Sunday-afternoon coverage This piece walks through the card structure, who to watch, and where to bet — the cross-bookmaker view of which firms are running specific Sunday Series offers. For the **complete Thirsk Racecourse profile** see our [Thirsk complete guide](/uk-racecourses/thirsk/), and for the broader **2026 Thirsk season** see the [Thirsk Hunt Cup Day guide](/uk-racecourses/thirsk/thirsk-hunt-cup-day/) and the [Thirsk Gold Cup guide](/uk-racecourses/thirsk/thirsk-gold-cup-guide/). ## The Sunday Series card at Thirsk **Seven races run between approximately 13:30 and 17:30 BST on Sunday 31 May 2026.** The card mixes Class 5 and Class 4 handicaps with a maiden / novice race for unraced or lightly-raced 3yos. **48-hour declarations close Friday 29 May at noon** and the final race-day card publishes overnight; the prose below describes the **published race series** at the entry stage. ### Headline race: Sky Bet Sunday Series Handicap (Class 4) **The featured race of the day** is the **Sky Bet Sunday Series Handicap** — a Class 4 contest typically run at 1m or 1m2f for 3yo+ handicappers in the 0-90 mark range. **Prize money is enhanced beyond a typical Thirsk Class 4 mid-week meeting**: the headline race carries approximately £12,000 to £15,000 total purse depending on final entries (final figure confirmed at 48-hour declarations). **What makes the headline race interesting for punters:** - **High-quality field for a mid-tier Sunday.** Trainers like **Karl Burke, Tim Easterby, Richard Fahey and Iain Jardine** — all heavyweight Northern handicap specialists — typically target Sunday Series fixtures with form-line-tested handicappers a length or two off Class 3 quality - **ITV broadcast window.** The race is positioned in the **main ITV Racing afternoon slot** (typically 3:00-3:30 BST), where the broadcast audience peaks - **Sky Bet sponsor offers.** Sky Bet typically runs **enhanced-place specials** or **money-back-as-cash-if-2nd** offers on its sponsored Sunday Series fixtures — see section 3 for the bookmaker breakdown ### Supporting card: 6 handicaps + 1 maiden The supporting races on the 31 May card follow Thirsk's typical Sunday-afternoon structure: | Race | Class | Type | Distance | Eligibility | |------|-------|------|----------|-------------| | 1 | C5 | Handicap | 1m | 4yo+ | | 2 | C5 | Restricted Maiden | 6f-7f | 3yo (unraced or 1-2 runs) | | 3 | C5 | Handicap | 6f | 3yo | | 4 | **C4** | **Sky Bet Sunday Series Handicap** | **1m-1m2f** | **3yo+** | | 5 | C5 | Handicap | 1m4f | 4yo+ | | 6 | C5 | Handicap | 5f | 4yo+ | | 7 | C5 | Handicap | 1m6f | 4yo+ | [Final card subject to 48-hour declarations on Friday 29 May. Source: Sporting Life Thirsk fixtures + Sky Bet Sunday Series advance race-naming.] ### Course profile: what to watch for **Thirsk's left-handed oval** is a forgiving track with a 4½f finishing straight that rewards horses who flatten out late rather than win on raw pace alone: - **Distance bias:** the 1m and 1m2f races on the card favour horses with **stamina-side breeding** — Galileo, Sea The Stars, Frankel descendants tend to do well over the course - **Going:** May meetings at Thirsk typically race on **Good** or **Good to Soft** ground; persistent showers in the week before move the going stick toward Soft, which favours northern handicappers over southern-route runners - **Draw bias:** on the round course, **low draws** generally have a small edge over 5f-6f; over 1m+ the draw matters less and **late-pace tactics** dominate - **Top jockeys at Thirsk:** **William Buick, Tom Marquand, Kieran Shoemark, Hollie Doyle and Daniel Tudhope** all post strong Thirsk strike rates — the senior Northern-rider colony is the one to follow on the card ### How to watch **ITV Racing carries the headline race(s)** live on **ITV1** and **ITVX** (free streaming with UK IP + email registration). The full card is also covered on **Sky Sports Racing** and **Racing TV** for subscribers. **First race approximately 13:30 BST; last race approximately 17:30 BST.** For the complete **race-day TV schedule** see the [2026 ITV Racing fixtures](/racing-news/) and the [Sky Sports Racing / Racing TV daily guide](/racing-news/). ## Where to bet on the Thirsk Sunday Series ### Sky Bet — the sponsor angle **Sky Bet is the title sponsor** of the Sunday Series at Thirsk and runs specific promotions tied to its named fixtures. Typical Sky Bet sponsor offers on Sunday Series race-days include: - **Enhanced place terms** on the headline handicap — typically **1/4 odds at 5 places** for 12+ runner fields (vs the 1/4 odds at 3-4 places industry standard) - **Money-back-as-cash if 2nd** on the sponsored race - **Price boosts** on individual runners advertised in the Sky Bet Sunday Series race-day landing page - **Welcome offer:** **Bet £5 Get £20-£30 in Free Bets** for new customers Sky Bet's welcome offer is the most flexible of the mainstream operators for casual Sunday-afternoon punters — the qualifying-stake threshold is just £5 (vs Bet365 / Betfred at £10 / Star Sports at £20). ### The cross-bookmaker view **All six major UK firms run Best Odds Guaranteed** on the Thirsk Sunday Series card: | Operator | Welcome offer | BOG status | |----------|---------------|------------| | **Bet365** | Bet £10 Get £30 (code SI365) | BOG on all UK + Irish racing | | **William Hill** | Bet £10 Get £30 (code R30) | BOG on all UK + Irish racing | | **Coral** | Bet £5 Get £30 | BOG on all UK + Irish racing | | **Paddy Power** | Bet £5 Get £40 | BOG on all UK + Irish racing | | **Betfred** | Bet £10 Get £50 (code BETFRED50) | The cleanest BOG retainer per [our comparison](/bookmakers/best-bog-bookmakers/) | | **Sky Bet** | Bet £5 Get £20-£30 | BOG with some restrictions; sponsor of the Sunday Series | | **Star Sports** | BET40GET20 | BOG withdrawn Dec 2024 — value via Star Boosts | For the full **cross-bookmaker view** including each-way place terms and extra-place specials see our [Best Free Bet Offers](/bookmakers/best-free-bet-offers/) and [Best BOG Bookmakers](/bookmakers/best-bog-bookmakers/) hubs. ### Specialist racing operator — Star Sports Star Sports is the independent specialist racing operator with **on-course trader pitches** at the major UK festivals (Cheltenham, Aintree, Royal Ascot, Epsom, Goodwood). For Sunday Series-level handicap fixtures, the Star Sports phone trader desk on **0800 052 1321** will lay larger stakes than the corporate app limits. For our [Star Sports review](/bookmakers/star-sports-review/), the [Star Sports sign-up offer page](/bookmakers/star-sports-sign-up-offer/), and the [Ben Keith profile](/bookmakers/ben-keith-profile/), see the dedicated pages. ### The structural Sunday Series approach **Three structural reads** for the Thirsk Sunday Series race-day: 1. **Each-way is the default bet** on the headline handicap. Class 4 handicaps at Thirsk typically run 10-14 runners; **1/4 odds at 4-5 places** is meaningfully better value than the win-only price. 2. **Follow the Northern handicap stables.** **Karl Burke, Tim Easterby, Richard Fahey, Iain Jardine, Tony Coyle, Brian Ellison** — all dominate Thirsk's mid-week meetings and target Sunday Series fixtures with their best handicap angles. 3. **Watch the draw on the 5f-6f sprints.** Low draws have a small edge at Thirsk's sprint distances; the 13:30-14:30 early-card sprints often turn on a 1-2 stall difference. ### What's next at Thirsk in 2026 After the 31 May Sunday Series, **Thirsk's 2026 fixture list continues into the summer** with meetings throughout June, July, August and September — 16 days of flat racing in total. Highlights include the **Thirsk Hunt Cup** (already run in early May), the **Thirsk Gold Cup** (later in the summer), and a **Family Fun Day** programme that targets August attendance. For the **full 2026 Thirsk season**, the [Thirsk complete guide](/uk-racecourses/thirsk/), the [Thirsk festival guide](/uk-racecourses/thirsk/thirsk-festival-guide/), and the [Thirsk day-out guide](/uk-racecourses/thirsk/thirsk-day-out-guide/) cover everything from on-course logistics to the best hospitality boxes. > **Responsible betting reminder:** Sunday Series fixtures sit in the prime ITV-broadcast slot and attract heavier-than-usual casual betting. Use small stakes, each-way bets on competitive handicaps, and stop when you've reached your budget. No betting system reliably beats efficient bookmaker prices; see our [in-house AI horse racing model write-up](/betting/strategies/ai-prediction-models/). Free help: [BeGambleAware.org](https://www.begambleaware.org).