Richard Hoiles comments from the ITV box as Oli Bell presents the Haldon Gold Cup at Aintree

The 6 November 2026 edition of Hexham, the weekly horse racing morning programme on ITV4, returns for its first weekend of the season, and the highlight of the day is the long-awaited Haldon Gold Cup. Broadcast on ITV4 in HD via ITVX, the programme resumes after a break with the opening day of the rescheduled West Country weekend now staged at Aintree, and the headline event of the day is the Haldon Gold Cup.

The programme is presented by Oli Bell, who brings the weekly racing magazine together from the studio, with analysis delivered by Mick Fitzgerald, Tom Scudamore and Alice Plunkett. Reporting from the track comes from Luke Harvey, while the lead commentary box is anchored by Richard Hoiles.

The ITV lineup

For the current series, ITV has announced that Oli Bell will present the weekly racing magazine show and that Richard Hoiles will serve as the lead commentator. The Blackpool Gazette's rundown of the ITV horse racing line-up confirms the structure, with Alice Plunkett among those given reporting roles alongside the analysis team, and names Tom Scudamore as part of the expert panel for the day.

The commentary box is a busy one. Alongside the main man, Richard Hoiles, the panel brings together several years of horse racing insight. Mick Fitzgerald is a familiar figure in the commentary box and, according to the production, walks the track every Saturday to gain fresh insight into ground conditions. Alice Plunkett is a member of the ITV racing team with reporting duties across the pre-parade ring and parade, keeping the stories current throughout the morning.

The Haldon Gold Cup

The headline event, the Haldon Gold Cup, is exactly the kind of moment that turns a good racing morning into a great one. With the weekend now staged at Aintree rather than the usual site, the Gold Cup brings its own weight of expectation to the Hexham programme, and the commentary from Richard Hoiles will be central to tracking its progress through the day.

The analysis from Mick Fitzgerald, Tom Scudamore and Alice Plunkett complements the headline, offering readers and viewers alike a sense of how the day is developing as the track is walked and the weighing room feeds come in.

Who to watch and where

The programme airs on ITV4, delivered in HD and available across the ITVX platform, with Oli Bell presenting from the studio and Richard Hoiles providing the commentary that anchors the day's verdicts. Those who want a front-row seat for the Haldon Gold Cup will find the whole lineup on ITV4, from presenter to commentator to the reporting team on the track.

For a quick check on the exact broadcast slot ahead of the morning, the ITV Racing Live listings confirm the programme's place in the schedule.

Details of the ITV horse racing presenter, commentator and pundit lineup are available on the ITV sport pages, where the full roster of names can be traced.

Article generated: 6 November 2026, 13:02 GMT