CHARLIE AUSTIN has landed his first managerial role – but it will be on the racecourse and not the football pitch.
The QPR frontman is manager of a team in the newly formed Racing League.
The exciting £2million tournament kicks off on July 29 and is set to revolutionise racing through the balmy summer nights.
Here, SunSport runs through everything you need to know.
What is it?
Racing League is 12 teams going head-to-head in six races every Thursday for six weeks , with each race worth £50,000 in prize money.
Who is in the teams?
Each team is made up of horses, jockeys, trainers and a manager.
Austin will be manager of Goat Racing. The team is made up of jockeys James Doyle, Laura Pearson and Callum Shepherd.
And the trainers are Tom Clover, Charlie Fellowes, George Scott and Hugo Palmer.
Top jockeys taking part in Racing League include Frankie Dettori, Hollie Doyle, who will be managed by Alan Brazil, Oisin Murphy and Hayley Turner.
Each team is made up of 30 horses and they are all three-year-olds or older, running from five furlongs to 1m4f.
Team members, including jockeys, will wear team colours so you can instantly recognise their runner in every race.
When is it?
July 29 – Newcastle (buy tickets)
August 5 – Doncaster (buy tickets)
August 12 – Lingfield (buy tickets)
August 19 – Windsor (buy tickets)
August 26 – Lingfield (buy tickets)
September 2 – Newcastle (buy tickets)
How do they win?
Points will be awarded in each race – 25 to the winner down to one for coming tenth.
The team with the most points after all 36 races over the summer will win the Racing League.
The champions will also receive a bonus £150,000.
Jeremy Wray, CEO of Racing League, said: “We are thrilled that Racing League will contribute over £2m of new money in its first year, which we believe will provide an enormous boost for the sport.
“The winner-takes-all team prize should add real spice to this exciting new competition.”
How can I watch it?
Every race from every night of the Racing League will be broadcast exclusively live on Sky Sports Racing.
FREE BETS GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to SE. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chases their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org
