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National racing weekly to launch next month

by Jacquie Bowser Brand Republic 26-Sep-07, 11:10

LONDON - A national racing newspaper is to be launched next month, edited by former Sun racing journalist Stephen Mullen, as a spin-off from monthly racing magazine Racing Ahead.

Racing Ahead Weekend will be sold every Saturday from October 20 at newsagents and supermarkets across the UK, containing colour race cards set out in chronological order, a pull-out form guide and tips for all weekend racing.

The paper's tipping team will cover all the angles for the weekend races, as well as the year's major race meetings. There will also be coverage of other major sporting events including greyhound meetings.

Racing Ahead Weekend claims it will focus on the betting side of racing, meaning it will be covering similar ground to Trinity Mirror's daily Racing Post. The Racing Post, which last year saw off a challenge from short-lived racing daily The Sportsman, is currently being auctioned off by Trinity Mirror.

Racing Ahead Weekend will offer 48 pages and cost £1; 60p cheaper than Racing Post's £1.60 Saturday price tag.

Mullen, the paper's editor, was a journalist on The Sun's racing desk and editor of The Sun racing annuals before becoming launch editor of Racing Ahead monthly in 2004.

He said: "Racing Ahead Weekend is written by racing fans, for racing fans. We are taking the bits of the Racing Post that we think our readers are interested in and putting them in a more concise and cheaper package.

"Our research tells us that readers don't want to buy one paper on Saturday and another on Sunday, they prefer the whole weekend's action in one go. Racing Ahead Weekend gives them that for only £1."

The paper will be backed by advertising sales through E4 Media Management and printing and distribution will be handled by Express Newspapers.