Ian Bartlett

Who is Ian Bartlett?

Ian Bartlett is a horse racing commentator and occasionally was a analyst for the BBC. He has also commentated for Channel 4 Racing.

For the BBC's television coverage of the Grand National, from 2004 up to and including the 2012 race after which the BBC lost the rights, Bartlett commentated on four sections of the 4½-mile steeplechase, from the 1st to 5th fence, 10th to 12th, 17th to 21st and 26th to 28th. It wasn't expected any BBC commentators would move to Channel 4 but Bartlett has joined Channel 4 and started commentating on the Grand National at Aintree for Channel 4 in 2013 and joined Richard Hoiles and lead commentator Simon Holt in the commentary box. He also joined Mick Fitzgerald, Clare Balding and Rishi Persad in moving from the BBC to Channel 4. While working for Channel 4's Grand National coverage, he commentates from the fifth fence to the tenth, before handing back over to Simon Holt. During this stint, he runs the viewers over the action over most of the signature fences in the race, including Becher's Brook and the Canal Turn.

Also known by his racing peers as Barty, he is known for his love of Veuve and claims that his Mastermind specialist subject would be the road network of the United Kingdom as he drives in excess of 40,000 miles per year.