Star Sports launch Talking Racecards for visually impaired racing fans

Bookmaker Star Sports has launched Talking Racecards, a dedicated phoneline to assist visually impaired customers in placing bets on horse racing.

The bespoke service provides customers with a recorded message of the racing event details and odds when they ring 0808 169 9389. They will also be given the option to be directed through to a Star Sports trader to find out more information and to place a bet of their choice.

Each race card will be available from 9am on the day of the event, with the customer given details on the meeting, time, race, type, and race card number, as well as the name of the horse, jockey, and trainer.

Andrew Gemmell, owner of former Stayers’ Hurdle winner Paisley Park, has been blind since birth and believes this will be a huge help to visually impaired people who are passionate about racing.

He said: “This is a wonderfully innovative idea from Star Sports. As soon as they told me about it, I simply asked ‘when can I have the phone number?’”

Eddie Lanham, visually impaired Star Sports customer, said: “I’ve bet with Star Sports for many years now. Sadly, my friend who used to read the race cards to me recently died of COVID-19. Star involved me in the trials of this service, and I’ve found it to be a great help and will be invaluable moving forward.”

Luke Tarr, Head of PR at Star Sports, said: “We’re excited to be able to launch the Talking Racecards phoneline to support customers who need help in being read the latest races and odds in order to place a bet.

“With the Cheltenham Festival on the horizon, we felt this was the perfect time to launch the phone line. The service is there to be used for anyone who needs it, with our traders ready and available to provide all the racing event details they need to place a bet and enjoy the race.”