Emma Spencer (née Ramsden; born 26 June 1978) is a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
television presenter
A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...
and
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and
pundit
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
.
Career
Emma Spencer started her career as a
jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
, twice winning champion amateur flat jockey. In 2001 Spencer joined
Channel 4 Racing
''Channel 4 Racing'' was the name given to the horse racing coverage on the British television stations Channel 4 and More4.
History
The first transmission of racing on the channel was on 22 March 1984 from Doncaster, as it took over midweek cov ...
and quickly became one of the lead presenters for the channel's flat racing coverage, covering British horse racing festivals including
the Derby,
Royal Ascot
Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...
and
Glorious Goodwood
Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in late ...
, as well as international contests such as the
Dubai World Cup
The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wher ...
, the
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...
, and the
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...
. In 2014 Spencer joined
888sport
888sport (pronounced as "Triple Eight Sport") is a multinational online sports gambling company headquartered in Gibraltar. It was founded in 2008 and is a subsidiary of 888 Holdings plc. The company provides online sports betting, predominant ...
as resident horse racing authority.
Personal life
Spencer lives in
Newmarket,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
. In February 2005 she married Irish jockey
Jamie Spencer
Jamie Spencer (born 8 June 1980, in County Tipperary) is an Irish flat racing jockey currently riding in the UK. He has been champion jockey in both Ireland and Britain and has won seven classics, five in Ireland and two in England. . Together they have three children, Charlie, Chloe, and Ella.
The couple divorced in 2010.
References
1978 births
Living people
British horse racing writers and broadcasters
English jockeys
English television presenters
English women journalists
British female equestrians
{{England-horseracing-bio-stub