Saturday and Sunday, Versus will air a total of four horse races from Saratoga Race Track. We have details have the NBC Sports Group right here.
NBC SPORTS GROUP COVERAGE OF “SUMMER AT SARATOGA” SERIES CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND ON VERSUS
Seven Straight Weekends of Coverage from Saratoga Continues Saturday at 5 p.m. ET with The Whitney and Sunday at 5 p.m. ET with the Vanderbilt
NEW YORK – August 3, 2011 – The NBC Sports Group’s seven straight weekends of “Summer at Saratoga” live horse racing from Saratoga Race Course continues this weekend with two shows on VERSUS, Saturday, 5-6 p.m. ET with coverage of the Whitney and Test and Sunday, 5-6 p.m. ET with coverage of the Vanderbilt and Honorable Miss.
COMMENTATORS: Saturday’s coverage will be hosted by Laffit Pincay, III alongside analyst Randy Moss. They will be joined by handicapper Bob Neumeier and the Daily Racing Form’s Jay Privman. VERSUS will take the race call from the Saratoga track announcer, the legendary Tom Durkin.
ABOUT THE BROADCASTS: In addition to the four grades stakes races, coverage will include two feature stories. On Saturday, there will be a feature about Al Stall, the trainer of Apart, who won the Whitney last year with Blame – the horse that went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic defeating Zenyatta.
Sunday’s feature will look at the owners of Noble’s Promise, a group of everyday people who pooled $10,000 to buy the horse. For some, it is their first trip to Saratoga. This feature will also recount the owners’ Kentucky Derby experience, as Noble’s Promise ran in the 2010 Derby.
NBCSports.com will feature highlights and features from every race, plus online-only features by NBC Sports and VERSUS’ on-air talent.
SATURDAY – WHITNEY AND TEST: Headed by Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap winner Tizway, Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney Invitational Handicap at 1 1/8 miles has also attracted Apart, Duke of Mischief, Flat Out, Friend Or Foe, Giant Oak, Headache, Mission Impazible, Morning Line, Rail Trip, and Rodman. Always one of the meet’s most prestigious races, the Whitney is shaping up as one of the best races for older horses run this year.
Saturday’s Grade 1 Test, seven furlongs for 3-year-old fillies, is expected to draw Grade 1 Prioress winner Her Smile, American Lady, Ava K., Coax Liberty, Pomeroys Pistol, Roman Treasure, Salty Strike and Turbulent Descent, a dual Grade 1 winner in California and runner-up in the June 11 TVG Acorn at Belmont Park.
SUNDAY – VANDERBILT AND HONORABLE MISS: Sunday features a pair of graded sprint stakes, with the Grade 1, six-furlong Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap expected to attract Trappe Shot, who looks to keep his momentum going following a victory in the Grade 2 True North Handicap on Belmont Stakes day. Also probable for the race are Apriority, Atta Boy Roy, Bank Merger, Calibrachoa, Noble’s Promise, and Sean Avery.
The Grade 2 Honorable Miss, a six-furlong handicap for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up, is likely to attract last year’s G1 Acorn and Test heroine Champagne d’Oro, along with Beat the Blues, Tar Heel Mom, Tidal Pool, and Wild News.
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)
Saturday, Whitney and Test, 5-6 p.m., VERSUS
Sunday, Vanderbilt and Honorable Miss, 5-6 p.m., VERSUS
Aug. 13, Sword Dancer, 5-6 p.m., VERSUS
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 all for now.
