NBC Sports Group was apparently happy with its Summer at Saratoga horse racing series that it has extended its agreement with the Saratoga Race Course and the New York Racing Association through the 2013 season. This year, NBC and Versus combined to show 8 hours of horse racing over a span of seven weeks. Tentatively in 2012, NBC and NBC Sports Network will air 6 hours of racing over 5 weeks. That schedule is subject to change, but overall, the schedule appears to go from early August into September.
This gives NBC Sports Network some live summer programming on weekends. We have the press release from NBC Sports Group.
NYRA AND NBC SPORTS GROUP EXTEND SUMMER AT SARATOGA PARTNERSHIP THROUGH 2013
NEW YORK and SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – September 21, 2011 – Due to the success of the inaugural series, the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the NBC Sports Group have announced a two-year extension for Summer at Saratoga, which will bring live national coverage of the Saratoga Race Course meet through 2013.
This year’s NBC Sports Group coverage of the Saratoga meet marked the most extensive live national broadcast presence ever of racing from the prestigious track, including three hour-long shows on NBC and five on VERSUS, spanning seven weekends in total. VERSUS will be re-named the NBC Sports Network on Jan. 2, 2012.
“The NBC Sports Group’s landmark coverage of this summer’s Saratoga meet was phenomenal,” said NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward. “NBC and VERSUS took everything that is special about Saratoga, from the incredible racing to the unparalleled fan experience to the storied history and beauty of the track and the town, and conveyed those elements to viewers across the country. We are very excited to extend this partnership for at least two more years and are already looking forward to the 2012 meet.”
“We are excited to extend our partnership with Charles Hayward and NYRA, one of our valued Triple Crown partners, to present Summer at Saratoga for two more years,” said Jon Miller, President of Programming, NBC Sports and VERSUS. “Saratoga is one of the iconic venues in American sports, and we couldn’t be happier with the multi-platform success we shared in the first year of this partnership.”
Highlights of this summer’s NBC and VERSUS coverage included Stay Thirsty surging to the top of the 3-year-old division with victories in the Jim Dandy and Travers; Tizway making his Horse of the Year case with an emphatic Whitney triumph; and Havre de Grace becoming only the second filly in history to win the Woodward.
The tentative schedule for the NBC Sports Group’s live coverage of Summer at Saratoga for 2012 is as follows:
- Saturday, August 11 – 6-7 p.m. ET – NBC Sports Network
- Sunday, August 12 – 4-6 p.m. ET – NBC Sports Network
- Saturday, August 18 – 5-6 p.m. ET – NBC Sports Network
- Saturday, August 25 – 4-6 p.m. ET – NBC
- Saturday, September 1 – 5-6 p.m. ET – NBC
Saratoga Race Course was named one of the world’s top 10 venues of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated. From late July through Labor Day, many of the sport’s top owners, trainers, jockeys, and horses gather in Saratoga Springs for the premier thoroughbred racing meet in the country. First held in 1863, the Saratoga meet regularly draws more than 20,000 passionate racing fans to the track on a daily basis.
That is it.
