The Grand National
Commentator
The Grand National, the United Kingdom’s most famous horse race, has been running since 1839. Held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England, the handicap steeplechase is watched and listened to by approximately 600 million people around the globe, including Queen Elizabeth and other members of the Royal Family. More than 80,000 people attend the Grand National each year to enjoy the spectacle of one of the world’s toughest and most controversial races.
The 7.24-kilometre course is demanding for the 40 thoroughbred racehorses, who must leap over 30 fences in two laps. It’s a thrilling and unpredictable 10-minute ride testing the mettle of horse and jockey alike – and the same is true in the commentators’ box as well! With more than 40 different sets of colours and names to learn, it’s one of the world’s most difficult races to broadcast requiring both a lightning wit and the memory of an elephant.
Rising to the challenge, from 2004 to 2009, Matt Hill joined the race commentary team of the BBC World Service, which strives to be known as “the world’s best-known and most-respected voice in international broadcasting”, to cover the drama as it unfolds over the course of the race.
In 2018, he was lead commentator of the four-man team calling the horses across the famous finish line. Matt is only the second Australian behind the iconic BBC voice Jim McGrath (the BBC’s senior horse racing commentator from 1997 to 2012) to call the finish of the National and only the fifth person since World War II to call them home on the BBC World Service. It’s outstanding recognition for one of Australia’s premier race callers.