Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine
King's College London

The Race Horse on Screen and Turf: Human-Animal Relationships, Mass Spectatorship

and Television Technology in 20th Century British Horseracing c. 1919 - 2009

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An animal and technological history of the relationship between the sport of horse racing

and British television in the 20th century, this project looks at how the advent and rise of

television as a mass medium in Britain affected and, in turn, was itself affected by race

horses: their bodies, experiences and relationships with humans.

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This thesis encompasses, within its scope, how the need to capture the movements of the

equine athlete drove the development of technology within the BBC’s Outside Broadcast

unit, the changing makeup of racing audiences through the rise of television, the effect of

television technology on race horses and animal sporting celebrity, and the impact of

television and mass spectatorship on issues of welfare.

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1st Supervisor: Abigail Woods

2nd Supervisor: Catherine Wheatley

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Bio:

Scott Hunter is a PhD student in History and Film Studies at King’s College London. His research interests centre around the history of moving picture technology and the relationship between evolutions of film and television technologies and their on-screen subjects.

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Papers Given:

‘Televising the Equine Athlete’ – BASN ‘Movements’ Conference, University of Leeds (November 2019)

Professional affiliations and activities:

Part-funded by the National Horseracing Museum, Newmarket