Justify Runs For Triple Crown History In 150th Belmont Stakes This Saturday
By: Tori Hartshorn Jun. 04, 2018
Kentucky Derby and Preakness STAKES winner Justify runs for history, aiming to succeed American Pharoah with a historic Triple Crown win, as NBC Sports presents the 150th Belmont STAKES this Saturday, June 9, at 4 p.m. ET on NBC. Justify aims to become the first undefeated Triple Crown winner since Seattle Slew in 1977, and the 13th Triple Crown winner in history.
Coverage from Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., begins this Friday, June 8, at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a one-hour show featuring two live races, including the Belmont Gold Cup, followed by a special look back at Justify's KENTUCKY DERBY and Preakness STAKES wins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Friday at 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN presents an encore of the documentary Dark Horses on the 1989 rivalry between Easy Goer and Sunday Silence (additional information below).
Highlights of NBC Sports Group's Belmont STAKES coverage include:
- A behind-the-scenes ride along with Justify trainer Bob Baffert in the days following the 2018 Preakness Stakes, when he took a drive from Louisville to Lexington to visit his first Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah;
- A feature on Justify jockey Mike Smith, including a trip to New Mexico to see how Smith got his start in racing;
- A feature on Justify's beginnings - where he was born and the men and women at Glennwood Farm who took care of him as a foal;
- A special aerial camera over the full backstretch for the Belmont Stakes, after successful integrations at the KENTUCKY DERBY (video: here), and Preakness STAKES (video here). The camera will provide a unique perspective 15-18 feet above the track at Belmont Park, and can travel alongside the horses at up to 80 MPH. The camera will cover 2,750 feet at Belmont Park, more than 700 feet longer than at the KENTUCKY DERBY and 500 feet longer than at the Preakness Stakes.
COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports Group's coverage of the Belmont 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 Belmont STAKES winner; handicapper Eddie Olczyk; reporters Donna Brothers, Britney Eurton, Carolyn Manno, Laffit Pincay, III and Kenny Rice; and race caller Larry Collmus. Tim Layden of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED will also contribute to NBC Sports' coverage.
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 21st Triple Crown race. The Belmont STAKES is directed by Drew Esocoff. The coverage on NBCSN is produced by Billy Matthewsand directed by Kaare Numme. The executive producer of NBC Sports and NBCSN is Sam Flood.
DARK HORSES: NBCSN will present several encores of the documentary Dark Horses throughout the week, beginning this Wednesday, June 6, at 8 p.m. ET. The film chronicles the competition between Easy Goer, who descended from racing royalty and one of the most powerful farms in the sport, and a relatively unheralded colt named Sunday Silence. The 60-minute documentary looks back at the 1989 racing season during which 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 Arthur Hancock, the owner of Sunday Silence, host Al Michaels, race caller Tom Durkin, jockey Pat Valenzuela, who rode Sunday Silence during the Triple Crown races, Easy Goer's jockey Pat Day, jockey Chris McCarron, who rode Sunday Silence at the 1989 Breeders' Cup, and Shug McGaughey, Easy Goer's trainer. Dark Horses was directed by Castor Fernandez (ESPN 30 for 30: "Brothers in Exile").
| BELMONT STAKES | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Network |
| Wed., June 6 | 8 p.m. | Dark Horses | NBCSN |
| Fri., June 8 | 5 p.m. | Belmont Access | NBCSN |
| Fri., June 8 | 6 p.m. | Kentucky Derby & Preakness Recap | NBCSN |
| Fri., June 8 | 7 p.m. | Dark Horses | NBCSN |
| Sat., June 9 | 8 a.m. | Dark Horses | NBCSN |
| Sat., June 9 | 2 p.m. | Belmont Prep | NBCSN |
| Sat., June 9 | 4 p.m. | Belmont Stakes | NBC |
BELMONT STAKES COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.COM & THE NBC SPORTS APP
The NBC Sports app will offer a MOSAIC of three different camera angles, including the NBC broadcast, an isolated camera focused on Justify, and "Collmus Cam" - Larry Collmus' Belmont STAKES race call live as streamed by a camera in his booth at Belmont Park.
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 Belmont STAKES coverage also includes:
- Bonus analysis by NBC Sports commentators
- Replays and highlights from the KENTUCKY DERBY and Preakness Stakes
NBC SPORTS RADIO BELMONT STAKES COVERAGE
NBC Sports Radio will present two-plus hours of live Belmont STAKES coverage beginning Saturday, June 9 at 5 p.m. ET. Produced in partnership with Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN), and distributed by Westwood One.
BELMONT STAKES ALL ACCESS
Horse racing fans can access content from the Belmont at NBCSports.com/Belmont-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 and Preakness Stakes.
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 and the Breeders' Cup, Pegasus World Cup Invitational, Dubai World Cup, and 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). Justify's win in the 2018 Preakness STAKES on NBC ranked as that weekend's most-watched sporting event with a TAD of 7.94 million viewers.
Comments
Videos