BREEDERS' CUP CLASSIC Airs on NBC This Saturday

2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah leads a star-studded field as he aims for a historic, first-ever "Grand Slam" win in the running of the 32nd Breeders' Cup Classic, live this Saturday, Oct. 31 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC.

American Pharoah faces competition from Beholder, who has won all five of her starts this year and seeks to become the first horse ever to win three different Breeders' Cup races (2012 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies & 2013 Breeders' Cup Distaff); Keen Ice, who edged American Pharoah down the stretch in the Aug. 29 Travers Stakes; and 2014 Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist.

The running of the 32nd Breeders' Cup Classic culminates 8½ hours of Breeders' Cup World Championships coverage this week on NBC and NBCSN from Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ken. - the first time the race has ever been held at the storied track. Eleven Breeders' Cup races will be televised live by NBC Sports Group.

NBCSN's live coverage of the Breeders' Cup World Championships begins this Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 4:30 p.m. ET with handicapping special "Betting The Breeders' Cup," and continues Friday, Oct. 30, at 3 p.m. ET, culminating with a three-hour show Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. ET.

Programming highlights include:

A feature on American Pharoah's connections, including how they plan to bounce back from his tough loss at the Travers Stakes.

A profile on the horse and jockey most likely to thwart American Pharoah's "Grand Slam" - Beholder and her jockey Gary Stevens.

A special broadcast introduction narrated by actress and Kentucky nativeAshley Judd. A University of Kentucky graduate, Judd was THE VOICE of NBC's show open for the May 2 Kentucky Derby. She has starred in more than 20 films and on Broadway. Her many film titles include her debut picture Ruby in Paradise, which won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury prize, Double Jeopardy, Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, and De-Lovely.

2015 BREEDERS' CUP TELEVISION SCHEDULE:

DateTime (ET)Network

Wed., Oct. 284:30 - 5 p.m.NBCSN

Fri., Oct. 303 - 6 p.m.NBCSN

Sat., Oct. 311 - 4 p.m.NBCSN

Sat., Oct. 314 - 6 p.m.NBC

COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports Group's coverage of the Breeders' Cup features Tom Hammond, whose first-ever assignment for NBC was as a reporter 31 years ago on the network's inaugural Breeders' Cup broadcast in 1984. He is joined by Hall-of-Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who owns 15 Breeders' Cup wins, including five victories in the Breeders' Cup Classic; veteran horse racing analyst Randy Moss; contributing analysts/handicappers Bob Neumeier and Eddie Olczyk; host/reporter Laffit Pincay, III; reporters Kenny Rice, Donna Brothers, Jay Privman, Nick Luck, and Carolyn Manno. NBC's Triple Crown race callerLarry Collmus will call all of the Breeders' Cup races.

Grammy Award winner Chris Tomlin will perform the Breeders' Cup anthem "The Best is Yet to Come" as the horses come out on the track for the running of the $5,000,000 Breeders' Cup Classic.

NBC Sports Group's Breeders' Cup coverage will be produced by Rob Hyland, producer of NBC's Triple Crown coverage, and a veteran of the network's horse racing coverage since 2001, and directed by Pierre Moossa. The coverage on NBCSN will be produced by Billy Matthews. The executive producer of NBC Sports and NBCSN is Sam Flood, who has produced 13 Triple Crown races for NBC Sports Group.

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA: NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs - will stream coverage of the Breeders' Cup on NBC and NBCSN via "TV Everywhere," giving consumers additional value 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 Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store and Apple TV. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.

NBC Sports Live Extra will offer full replays of all streamed races.

BREEDERS' CUP "ALL ACCESS": Horseracing fans and fans of the celebrities and fashion at the Breeders' Cup can access content leading up to, and through the event at NBCSports.com/breeders. Fans can access the latest from the Breeders' Cup through various streams spanning horses, fashion, celebrities and more. The "All Access" page aggregates what's trending, Breeders' Cup video and photo content. New to Breeders' Cup "All-Access" this year is the "Horse Namer," where fans can type in their names and are instantly provided with their Breeders' Cup horse name along with a horse avatar that is shareable on Facebook and Twitter.

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