Thirsk Sky Bet Sunday Series 2026: ITV Broadcast Preview

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 and the Sky Sports Racing / Racing TV daily guide.

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
Sky Bet	Bet £5 Get £20-£30	BOG with some restrictions; sponsor of the Sunday Series
Star Sports	BET20GET10 or BET50GET25	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 and 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, the Star Sports sign-up offer page, and the 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, the Thirsk festival guide, and the 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. Free help: BeGambleAware.org.