Simon Holt (commentator)

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Simon Holt (born 1960) is a British horse racing commentator, who since the beginning of 2000 has been the main race commentator for Channel 4.

Holt became a racecourse commentator in 1988, and made his TV debut for Channel 4 on September 30, 1994 at Newmarket. He also wrote for The Sporting Life. From the beginning of 1995 he was heard regularly, sometimes as a race commentator but sometimes in the now defunct job of betting and results reader. Graham Goode at that time remained Channel 4's main race commentator, but in the late 1990s Holt covered more and more races and became the main commentator from the beginning of 2000. He would only cover the Derby and Oaks once for Channel 4, before the BBC took over coverage from Epsom in 2001, but he has continued to cover many important events including the Cheltenham Festival, 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas, St Leger, King George VI Chase and, from 2007, Glorious Goodwood. He has also remained a regular racecourse commentator, often working at his local track Brighton.