Nine has taken the bold step of signing Olympic champion Jessica Fox and horse-loving rugby league great Billy Slater to its broadcast team for the first year of its Melbourne Cup Carnival coverage.
Fox, one of the heroes of the Paris Games and a three-time gold medallist, will join Nine presenters Sylvia Jeffreys and Clint Stanaway as well as former tennis star Jelena Dokic to cover Flemington’s celebrity-fuelled Birdcage precinct as well as fashions on the field.
Olympian Jessica Fox will join Nine for its coverage of Melbourne Cup week.Credit: Rhett Wyman
While the kayak champion has had limited exposure as a TV host, she proved herself to be a natural in front of the cameras when reading the sport news during a guest slot for Nine’s Today show in August. Dokic is a regular with Nine during the Australian Open.
Slater, who rode track work for hall-of-fame trainer Gai Waterhouse as a 16-year-old before turning his attention to league, has been handed the key on-course role of interviewing winning jockeys on horseback after each race.
Billy Slater will interview winning jockeys for Nine during Melbourne Cup week.Credit: Getty Images
Slater will be calling on his horsemanship just a month after providing special comments during Penrith’s historic NRL grand final victory.
The multi-year Melbourne Cup carnival broadcast, media, and sponsorship deal between the Victoria Racing Club, Tabcorp and Nine Entertainment, owner of this masthead, will combine talent from all three organisations. The deal runs from 2024 to 2029.
Nine veteran Eddie McGuire will anchor the broadcaster’s four-day Cup-week coverage, which will take in Derby Day, Melbourne Cup Day, Oaks Day and Champions Day.
Joining him from the mounting yard will be Sydney sports presenter James Bracey and renowned international expert Francesca Cumani.
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey and VRC ambassador Michelle Payne will also provide regular insights, while Nine stalwart Tony Jones will conduct interviews in the trainers’ and owners’ area.
The coverage will turn to TAB form experts Grace Ramage and David Gately for race predictions and analysis.
Members of Nine’s Melbourne Cup week coverage, from left, James Bracey, Eddie McGuire, Alicia Loxley and Billy Slater.Credit: Fiona Hamilton Photography
“The Melbourne Cup Carnival is one of the greatest spectacles in the sporting world, and we couldn’t be prouder to be the host broadcaster,” Nine director of sport Brent Williams said.
“With such an extraordinary line-up of talent, combined with our state-of-the-art production, we are set to deliver an unforgettable experience for all Australians.”
In a first for spring racing coverage, the VRC will produce 20 to 25 minutes of content for every hour of coverage, predominantly from the time the horses arrive in the mounting yard until the jockeys return to scale.
“We have invested in state-of-the-art technology, graphics, four drones, a helicopter, and some significant tech to ensure the racing content is world-class,” VRC chief executive Kylie Rogers said.
Nine’s nightly news bulletin, with Alicia Loxley and Tom Steinfort, and the teams from Today and Weekend Today, headed by Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo, will broadcast live from Southbank Promenade at Crown and from Flemington during the carnival.
Viewers will also get exclusive Cup Week content on 9Now.
