This Saturday, I’ll Have Another will attempt to become the first horse to win The Triple Crown since Seattle Slew achieved the feat in 1978. He’ll run in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. NBC Sports Group will be all over the race with coverage beginning on Thursday with re-airs on NBC Sports Network of the first two Jewels of the Triple Crown, this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
Then on Friday, NBC Sports Network will show some classic Belmont races and a Live from Belmont program late in the afternoon.
On Saturday, NBC Sports Network and NBC will combine for 4½ hours of coverage. Here’s the NBC Sports Group press release.
I’LL HAVE ANOTHER SEEKS FIRST TRIPLE CROWN IN 34 YEARS AS NBC SPORTS GROUP PRESENTS THE 144th BELMONT STAKES
11 Hours of Belmont-Week Coverage Begins Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET with I’ll Have Another – Charging Toward History on NBC Sports Network Coverage Culminates with 144th Belmont Stakes on NBC, Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET
NBC Sports Group’s Increased Coverage Includes 30 Extra Minutes on NBC, the I’ll Have Another Special, and Re-broadcasts of I’ll Have Another’s Thrilling Kentucky Derby and Preakness VictoriesNEW YORK – June 4, 2012 – The NBC Sports Group will surround I’ll Have Another’s quest to become the first horse in 34 years to capture horse racing’s elusive Triple Crown with 11 hours of coverage across both NBC and the NBC Sports Network. Coverage includes: a 30-minute documentary I’ll Have Another – Charging Toward History on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET; re-broadcasts of I’ll Have Another’s victories in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes Thursday night on NBC Sports Network; Belmont classics on Friday on NBC Sports Network; a one-hour Live from Belmont on Friday on NBC Sports Network; and 4.5 hours of coverage from Belmont on both NBC and NBC Sports Network on Saturday. The coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on NBC, and is preceded by 1.5 hours of coverage on NBC Sports Network, and followed by a 30-minute post-race show on the channel.
COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports Group’s coverage of the 144th Belmont Stakes will feature co-hosts Bob Costas, a 23-time Emmy Award-winner, and NBC’s lead horse racing voice Tom Hammond; Hall-of-Fame jockey and three-time Belmont Stakes winner Gary Stevens; analyst Randy Moss; contributing analysts/handicappers Mike Battaglia and Bob Neumeier; host Laffit Pincay, III; Hall-of Fame jockey and two-time Belmont Stakes-winner Jerry Bailey; reporters Kenny Rice, Donna Brothers and Jay Privman; and race caller Larry Collmus.
PRODUCTION TEAM: NBC’s coverage will be produced by Rob Hyland, the producer of this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and a veteran of the network’s horse racing coverage since 2001, and directed by Sunday Night Football and NBC Sports’ horse racing director, Drew Esocoff.
The coverage on NBC Sports Network is produced by Pierre Moossa and directed by Doug Grabert. Fred Gaudelli is the coordinating producer of NBC Sports Group’s Triple Crown coverage. The executive producer of NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network is Sam Flood, who has produced 11 Triple Crown races for the network.
ABC14.8 MILLION WATCH KENTUCKY DERBY: NBC’s coverage of the 2012 Kentucky Derby drew 14.8 million viewers, the third most-watched Kentucky Derby in 23 years, and up two percent from last year’s Derby. Since implementing NBC Sports Group’s ‘Big Event Strategy,’ the last four Kentucky Derby races have all recorded at least 14.5 million viewers.
NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby over the last 12 years averages more than 2 million more viewers than the previous 12 Kentucky Derby broadcasts on ABC (14.1 million vs.12.0 million, up 17 percent).
8.1 MILLION WATCH PREAKNESS STAKES: NBC Sports coverage of the Preakness Stakes drew 8.1 million viewers, the fourth consecutive year that the Preakness drew more than eight million viewers. Since NBC began broadcasting the Preakness in 2001, every Preakness telecast on NBC over that period attracted more viewers than any Preakness telecast on ABC in the previous seven years. Viewership for the Preakness is up an average of 60% in the 12 years on NBC compared to the previous eight years on ABC.
That’s all.
