NASCAR Host Krista Voda Makes NBC Sports Group Horse Racing Debut This Saturday & Will Host NBCSN Coverage During Kentucky Derby Week

With the "Run for the Roses" only one month away, NBCSN presents live elite horse racing this Saturday, April 8, at 5:30 p.m. ET, with coverage of the Wood Memorial, Blue Grass Stakes, and Santa Anita Derby. The winner of each race receives 100 points, enough to guarantee a spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby, May 6 on NBC.

Trainers Doug O'Neill and Bob Baffert, who had the respective Kentucky Derby winners in 2016 and 2015, are expected to have multiple contenders at Santa Anita. Baffert's challengers are led by American Anthem, while Iliad headlines O'Neill's starters.

The field for the Blue Grass Stakes, a prestigious race for top 3-year-olds at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, is led by undefeated McCraken and Tampa Bay Derby winner Tapwrit. Irish War Cry and Cloud Computing are among the standout names expected to run in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, N.Y.

NASCAR on NBC host Krista Voda makes her NBC Sports Group horse racing debut as host of this Saturday's telecast. She will be joined at Santa Anita Park by Hall-of-Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who has won each Triple Crown race twice; veteran horse racing analyst Randy Moss, analyst/handicapper Eddie Olczyk; and reporters Donna Brothers and Laffit Pincay, III. NBC Sports race caller Larry Collmus will call the Wood Memorial from Aqueduct.

In addition, Voda will serve as host of NBCSN's Kentucky Derby week coverage, beginning with the Kentucky Derby Access telecast on Thursday, May 4 and culminating with the Kentucky Derby Prep show on Saturday, May 6.

"It definitely feels like a homecoming for me, as horse racing is what I covered early in my career in Lexington," Voda said. "People may not think that thoroughbreds and stock cars go together, but there are similarities in the preparation and the loyalty of the fanbases that follow each sport. I can't wait to get back to Churchill Downs during the first week in May."

Voda, who joined NBC Sports Group in 2015 and is in her 16th season working on NASCAR, covered horse racing at WLEX-TV, the NBC affiliate in Lexington, Kentucky. From 1998-2002, Voda served as a host for the station's all-day coverage of Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby programming. In addition, she worked the spring and fall meets at Keeneland Racecourse, and covered yearling sales at the track.

Coverage will be streamed live on NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app 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. Powered by Playmaker Media, the NBC Sports app is available on Apple iOS, Android and select Samsung devices, as well as on Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Win10, and Xbox.

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. Also in 2017, NBC Sports Group televised the world's richest horse race (the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational) and the $10 million Dubai World Cup, and in June will present 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.

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