This year's telecast of the June 7 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) on NBC garnered the second-highest overnight rating and share, according to the NBC SportsPR Twitter account.
The household rating for the Belmont telecast from Belmont Park was 12.9 with a 29 share, second only to the 15.6/31 in 2004 when Smarty Jones failed in his bid for the Triple Crown. California Chrome finished in a dead-heat for fourth in this year's Belmont after winning the first two legs of the Triple Crown.
NBC SportsPR said this year's overnight rating is 180% higher than last year's 4.6/11, when no Triple Crown was on the line, and 36% higher than 9.5/21 in 2008, when Big Brown failed in his Triple Crown attempt.
The highest-rated markets June 7 were Louisville, Ky., at 21.1/38; Fort Myers, Fla., at 19.2/36; Sacramento, Calif., at 19.2/39; West Palm Beach, Fla., at 19.2/35; and Baltimore, Md., at 17.3/36.
