Kentucky Derby winner Justify leads the field as NBC Sports Group presents the 143rd running of the Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, this Saturday, May 19, at 5 p.m. ET on NBC.
Game 5 of the NHL Eastern Conference Final between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning (if necessary) will air on NBC immediately following the Preakness Stakes.
Coverage from Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., begins this Friday, May 18, at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN with the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, and continues Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Over the two days, NBC Sports Group will cover 10 races live.
Justify faces fellow Derby competitors Good Magic, who finished second in the "Run for the Roses," Bravazo, and Lone Sailor, with Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby winner Quip highlighting the "new shooters." With a win Saturday at the Preakness Stakes, Justify will head to the Belmont Stakes aiming to succeed 2015 Triple Crown champion American Pharoah. NBC Sports Group's coverage of the Belmont Stakes begins Friday, June 8.
COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports Group's coverage of the Preakness Stakes features hosts Bob Costas, a 28-time Emmy Award winner, and Mike Tirico; analysts Randy Moss and Jerry Bailey, the Hall of Fame jockey and two-time Preakness Stakes winner; handicapper Eddie Olczyk; reporters Donna Brothers, Britney Eurton, Carolyn Manno, Laffit Pincay, III and Kenny Rice; and race caller Larry Collmus.
Saturday's coverage will include a feature on Justify's trainer Bob Baffert and a profile on the horse's jockey Mike Smith, including how his fitness regimen has allowed him to continue winning the sport's biggest races at 52. In addition, Bailey and Moss will tour the stables to speak with some of the Preakness contenders.
Following its Triple Crown debut at the Kentucky Derby (video: here), NBC Sports will utilize a special aerial camera over the full backstretch for the Preakness Stakes. The camera will provide a unique perspective 15-18 feet above the track at Pimlico, and can travel alongside the horses at up to 80 MPH.
DARK HORSES
Friday at Midnight ET after the Stanley Cup Playoff hockey, NBCSN debuts a new documentary, Dark Horses, on the most exciting and unlikely rivalry in Triple Crown history. Easy Goer descended from racing royalty and the most powerful farm in the sport, while Sunday Silence was so lightly regarded that as a colt he failed to attract a single buyer. The 1989 racing season would find the two horses - who each had members of the well-known Hancock family on opposing sides - competing head-to-head in all three Triple Crown races, and the Breeders' Cup Classic. The competition provided some of the most dynamic and compelling races in thoroughbred history.
The film features interviews with host Al Michaels, race caller Tom Durkin, jockey Pat Valenzuela, who rode Sunday Silence during the Triple Crown races, Easy Goer jockey Pat Day, jockey Chris McCarron, who rode Sunday Silence at the 1989 Breeders' Cup, and Shug McGaughey, Easy Goer's trainer.
PREAKNESS STAKES
Date Time Event Network
Fri., May 18 3 p.m. Black-Eyed Susan Stakes NBCSN
Fri., May 18 Midnight Dark Horses NBCSN
Sat., May 19 2:30 p.m. Preakness Prep NBCSN
Sat., May 19 5 p.m. Preakness Stakes NBC
The coordinating producer of NBC's horse racing coverage is Rob Hyland, who has been a part of the network's horse racing coverage since 2001 and serves as the lead producer on his 20th Triple Crown race. The Preakness Stakes is directed by Pierre Moossa. The coverage on NBCSN is produced by Billy Matthews and directed by Kaare Numme. The executive producer of NBC Sports and NBCSN is Sam Flood.
PREAKNESS STAKES COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.COM & THE NBC SPORTS APP
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app -- NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs -- will stream coverage on NBCSN and NBC via "TV Everywhere," giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.
The NBC Sports app's Preakness Stakes coverage includes bonus analysis by NBC Sports commentators as well as Replays and highlights from the Kentucky Derby and earlier prep races
PREAKNESS STAKES ALL ACCESS
Horse racing fans can access content from the Preakness at NBCSports.com/Preakness-Stakes. Fans can access the full horse racing TV schedule including all Triple Crown races, the Royal Ascot, and The Breeders' Cup World Championships, as well as highlights from the Kentucky Derby.
NBC SPORTS GROUP AND HORSE RACING: NBC Sports Group is the exclusive home to the most important and prestigious events in horse racing, including the Triple Crown, the Breeders' Cup, Pegasus World Cup Invitational, Dubai World Cup, the Epsom Derby and the Royal Ascot meet. NBC has been the exclusive home of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes since 2001, and the Belmont Stakes since 2011, when NBC Sports Group reassembled the Triple Crown. Justify's victory in the 2018 Kentucky Derby posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 15.0 million viewers across NBC and NBC Sports Digital platforms - marking the sixth consecutive year that Kentucky Derby viewership averaged at least 15 million viewers. NBC's six-year streak averaging 15 million Kentucky Derby viewers is the longest in People Meter history (since 1988).
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