The “Summer at Saratoga” series on the NBC Sports Group, this time airing on the “Mothership” with the Alabama Stakes being the featured race. The NBC Sports horse racing crew of Tom Hammond, Gary Stevens, Mike Battaglia and Kenny Rice will all be on hand. Calling the race will be the Voice of Saratoga, Tom Durkin. Here are the details of NBC’s broadcast.
NBC SPORTS GROUP COVERAGE OF “SUMMER AT SARATOGA” SERIES CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND ON NBC
Seven Straight Weekends of Coverage from Saratoga Continues Saturday at 5 p.m. ET with The Alabama
NEW YORK – August 18, 2011 – The NBC Sports Group’s seven straight weekends of “Summer at Saratoga” live horse racing from Saratoga Race Course continues this Saturday, 5-6 p.m. ET on NBC with coverage of the Grade 1, $500,000 Alabama.
COMMENTATORS: Saturday’s coverage will be hosted by Tom Hammond alongside Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, handicapper Mike Battaglia and reporter Kenny Rice. NBC will take the race call from the Saratoga track announcer, the legendary Tom Durkin.
ABOUT THE BROADCAST: In addition to the Alabama, coverage will include a feature story on It’s Tricky, a contender for the Triple Tiara and a preview of next week’s famed Travers Stakes.
NBCSports.com will feature highlights and features from every race, plus online-only features by NBC Sports and VERSUS’ on-air talent.
THE ALABAMA: To date, six fillies – Top Flight (1932), Damaged Goods (1940), Shuvee (1969), Mom’s Command (1985), Open Mind (1989), and Sky Beauty (1993) – have swept the Acorn, Coaching Club American Oaks, and Alabama. On Saturday, It’s Tricky will attempt to add her name to that list when she faces five formidable 3-year-old fillies in the 131st running of the prestigious Alabama.
It’s Tricky, a 3-year-old daughter of 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft, is poised to don the Triple Tiara, but first she’ll have to defeat a select field of fillies that includes the winners of the Kentucky Oaks (Plum Pretty), Black-Eyed Susan (Royal Delta), Queen’s Plate (Inglorious), and Delaware Oaks (St. John’s River).
NBC AND NYRA: In May, The New York Racing Association (NYRA) and the NBC Sports Group announced a partnership to broadcast “Summer at Saratoga,” the most extensive live national television coverage of racing from Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., over seven weekends this summer beginning this Saturday and including the famed $1 million Travers Stakes on August 27.
NBC SPORTS GROUP SUMMER AT SARATOGA REMAINING COVERAGE (All Times ET):
Aug. 20, Alabama, 5-6 p.m., NBC
Aug. 27, Travers and King’s Bishop, 5-6 p.m., NBC
Sept. 3, Woodward and Forego, 5-6 p.m., VERSUS
That’s it for this post.
