Without Zenyatta, TV ratings on ESPN2, ABC, and ESPN all fell in 2011 with Saturday's Breeders' Cup program suffering the most damage.
Monday, November 07, 2011New policies in place at this year's Breeders' Cup as a result of the Life At Ten incident in 2010 will still allow pre-race television interviews with jockeys immediately prior to the start of a World Championship race.
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Horse racing has been a family affair for Joe Tessitore, who will host two days of Breeders' Cup coverage Nov. 4-5 on the ESPN networks and ABC.
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
The Breeders' Cup announced Oct. 20 that ESPN and ABC will televise more than nine hours of live television coverage of the Nov. 4-5 World Championships at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
NBC Sports' June 11 telecast of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) saw substantial ratings increases over the 2010 edition on ABC, according to data from The Nielsen Company.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Zenyatta proved popular across the United States Nov. 6 as television ratings soared for the second day of the Breeders' Cup, which was highlighted by the mare's appearance in the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I).
Monday, November 08, 2010
With no Kentucky Derby or Preakness winner in the Belmont Stakes field, TV ratings numbers for the third jewel of racing's Triple Crown slid to lowest level ever.
Monday, June 07, 2010
ESPN's telecast of the 2009 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) has won the Media Eclipse Award for National Television - Live Racing. The Belmont Stakes program was aired on ABC on June 6, 2009 from Belmont Park.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Coverage of the Nov. 6-7 Breeders' Cup cards from Santa Anita Park on ABC/ESPN continued to attract just modest viewership, dipping slightly from disappointing ratings a year ago.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Great weather is expected for the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will air on ESPN2 Nov. 6, and ABC and ESPN on Nov. 7.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
The 2009 Breeders' Cup World Championships on Nov. 6-7 from Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., will receive nine hours of live television coverage, including 2 1/2 hours on ABC. The 26th running of the Breeders' Cup will feature 14 races over two days on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Without a Triple Crown on the line, this year's TV coverage of the June 6 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) attracted approximately half the number of viewers as last year, when Big Brown was attempting to win the Triple Crown at Belmont Park.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
ESPN and ABC will offer seven hours of Belmont Stakes (gr. I) coverage starting at noon ET--including ABC's two-hour race broadcast June 6 at 5 p.m.--as jockey Calvin Borel attempts to complete an unprecedented personal Triple Crown.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
ABC/ESPN reports that television ratings for its Oct. 24-25 telecasts of the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park rose slightly from 2007 figures. However, ratings remain far below those posted by NBC before ABC/ESPN took over the event in 2006.
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Breeders' Cup and ESPN announced June 2 that the Oct. 24-25 Breeders' Cup World Championships from Santa Anita Park will receive an unprecedented nine hours of live coverage including, for the first time, 2.5 hours of live coverage on ABC.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Big Brown's failed quest for a coveted Triple Crown drew in the television viewers. The Belmont Stakes (gr. I) broadcast on ABC from 6:15-7:15 p.m. EDT delivered a 10.5 overnight metered market rating, up 169% from last year's race (3.9).
Sunday, June 08, 2008NetJets and the New York Racing Association announced a marketing partnership for the 2008 Saratoga meet during a press conference in the Belmont Park press box June 6.
Friday, June 06, 2008A lawsuit over the movie "Ruffian" has been dismissed in a Georgia federal court, vindicating defendants The Walt Disney Co. and its television networks ABC and ESPN.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Retired Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron will join TVG, America's Horseracing Network, as a member of the TVG broadcasting team, it was announced March 27. McCarron will make his on-air debut April 4, live at Keeneland Race Course.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The New York Racing Association has unveiled its logo for the 140th running of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), the 1 1/2-mile final leg of Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown.
Thursday, February 14, 2008Breeders' Cup president and chief executive officer Greg Avioli said the organization hopes to achieve a number of goals with the newly created Breeders' Cup Challenge.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007Continuing a trend in sports TV programming, the ratings for the June 9 telecast of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) on ABC registered a 2.9, down 12% from 2006's 3.3.
Thursday, June 14, 2007The Belmont Stakes telecast June 9 on ABC, which ended up being a thrilling race with a historic finish thanks to the filly Rags to Riches, nevertheless registered modest ratings numbers that continued a downward trend for the race.
Monday, June 11, 2007An agreement has been reached between Frank Whiteley and Jacinto Vasquez, the respective trainer and jockey of the top racemare Ruffian; the Walt Disney Company ABC; ESPN; and a movie production company over a movie about the filly.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007Ruffian's trainer, Frank Whiteley Jr., and her regular rider, Jacinto Vasquez, along with Thoroughbred Legends LLC, have filed a civil suit against The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries, ABC and ESPN, charging trademark infringement in the TV movie "Ruffian," which is slated to air June 9 on ABC.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007NBC Sports' telecast of the 133rd Kentucky Derby May 5 averaged 11.5 million viewers, the highest number since 2001, the network reported Thursday.
Thursday, May 10, 2007"Citgo Racing to the Kentucky Derby" will once again air on ABC and the ESPN networks beginning Saturday, March 17, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced Feb. 15. The series will conclude with a Triple Crown special airing from Louisville's Churchill Downs two days prior to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
Thursday, February 15, 2007Television ratings were down but Web traffic was up for ESPN's maiden voyage covering the Breeders' Cup World Championships.
Monday, November 06, 2006Besides being seen on a new network this year, the Breeders' Cup World Championships will have a different sound as well. For the first time since the event's inception in 1984, Tom Durkin will not be calling the Breeders' Cup races for television viewers.
Saturday, September 02, 2006ABC Sports picked a tough time to get back into the Triple Crown business. Without Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro and Preakness victor Bernardini, the Belmont Stakes was left without a star attraction, and that was reflected in national television ratings for the June 10 running from New York.
Monday, June 12, 2006Coverage of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) on ESPN networks and ABC Sports June 8-10 will include more footage than ever before of the details surrounding a horse that will not be present for the third leg of the Triple Crown.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006Comprehensive coverage of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) on ESPN and ABC Sports begins June 8 and concludes June 10, when the third jewel of Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown will be held at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006NBC reported ratings for its May 6 Kentucky Derby telecast that were down slightly from 2005 figures, but were in line with the numbers it has received for its Run for the Roses coverage since 2000.
Thursday, May 11, 2006Television crews from ABC and NBC blanketed the Bluegrass region the week of April 24 to tape separate features on the area.
Thursday, April 27, 2006ABC Sports, which will be televising the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) from Belmont Park in New York June 10, has announced it will be expanding the telecast to two hours. The program will air from 5 p.m.-7p.m. ET.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006The National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced the 2006 schedule of National Pick 4 wagers available at wagering outlets nationwide March 31. All six wagers are tied to ABC/ESPN racing telecasts.
Friday, March 31, 2006With the $6-million Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) an annual highlight of the early-season racing calendar, HRTV and TVG will offer coverage of Nad Al Sheba racecourse in the United Arab Emirates March 25, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT. In addition, ABC will provide on-site coverage of the World Cup and UAE Derby (UAE-II) for the first time.
Thursday, March 23, 2006Retired jockey Gary Stevens will make his first guest appearance on the ABC family series Wildfire March 13. According to Stevens' Web site, the two-time Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner plays jockey Augie French in "Break Down," episode 2009 of the drama's second season. Jason London and singer Aidan Hawken also guest star in the program.
Saturday, March 11, 2006"Citgo Racing to the Kentucky Derby," an eight-show series on ABC and the ESPN networks that provides comprehensive coverage of the key Triple Crown prep races, returns on March 18, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced Feb. 8.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006Jerry Bailey, 48, North America's dominant jockey for more than a decade beginning in the early 1990s, announced his retirement from riding, effective Jan 28 after the Sunshine Millions card at Gulfstream Park.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) announced it will produce an original film, "Ruffian," based on the story of the great filly who was undefeated until suffering a fatal breakdown in a match race against Foolish Pleasure at Belmont Park in 1975.
Thursday, January 12, 2006Less than two months after his Nov. 26 retirement from racing, former jockey Gary Stevens is considering an invitation to guest star in the ABC original family series Wildfire.
Saturday, January 07, 2006NBC Sports' coverage of the June 11 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) managed a 4.5 national rating/11 share for its 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. EDT telecast.
Thursday, June 16, 2005Without a possible Triple Crown winner on the line, ratings for NBC's June 11 broadcast of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) dropped to an average overnight rating of 5.0 with an 11 share, down from 13.4 with a 27 share from last year when Smarty Jones made his bid for the 2004 Triple Crown.
Sunday, June 12, 2005The popularity of Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Smarty Jones contributed to an overnight television rating of 7.2 and 16 share for the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), up 29% from 2003.
Monday, May 23, 2005Continuing a relationship that began in 2001, NBC Sports has reached an agreement with Churchill Downs Inc. and Magna Entertainment/Maryland Jockey Club to telecast the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes an additional five years, from 2006 to 2010.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005The Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships will be televised on ESPN beginning in 2006 under an eight-year contract between the two parties, officials announced April 29. Financial details weren't released, but officials called it a "revenue-sharing" package designed to help racing capitalize on multimedia and technology.
Friday, April 29, 2005The 18-year-old television deal between the partners in Triple Crown Productions has been dissolved. Just days after New York Racing Association chairman Barry Schwartz said the NYRA would move in another direction, it was announced Oct. 4 the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), third leg of the Triple Crown, would be broadcast via ABC Sports beginning in 2006.
Monday, October 04, 2004The National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced Thursday that five two-hour television shows of horseracing, called "NTRA Super Saturdays" will debut June. 12.
Friday, February 27, 2004Thomas H. Meeker, president and chief executive officer of Churchill Downs Inc. and president of Triple Crown Productions, issued a statement regarding the recent death of Roone Arledge, who previously served as president of ABC News and ABC Sports during his career.
Friday, December 06, 2002
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