NBC Sports Presents 6 1/2 Hours of BELMONT STAKES Coverage Today

Kentucky Derby winner Orb and Preakness Stakes winner Oxbow square off as NBC Sports Group presents 6½ hours of coverage of the 145th running of the Belmont Stakes. Coverage begins from Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., Friday at 4 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, and culminates with the Belmont Stakes Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on NBC.

COMMENTATORS: NBC's coverage of the 145th Belmont Stakes is co-hosted by 25-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas and NBC's veteran horse racing commentator Tom Hammond; two-time Belmont Stakes-winning jockey Jerry Bailey; analyst Randy Moss; contributing analysts/handicappers Mike Battaglia and Bob Neumeier; host Laffit Pincay, III; reporters Kenny Rice, Donna Brothers and Jay Privman; race caller Larry Collmus; and Michelle Beadle, who will contribute features.

FEATURES AND STORYLINES: The features NBC Sports Group is preparing for its Belmont coverage includes:

A look at Kentucky Derby winning horse Orb: What happened, what's next? Owners Stuart Janney and Dinny Phipps and trainer Shug McGaughey explain Orb's disappointing effort in the Preakness, and talk about what's at stake at Belmont, their home track;
Beadle spends a morning at the barns with Mike Repole, the Queens native and soft drink billionaire who owns three horses in the Belmont Stakes;
Costas essay on why the Triple Crown is one of the most elusive pursuits in sports;
Costas interview with Oxbow trainer D. Wayne Lukas and jockey Gary Stevens.

PRODUCTION TEAM: The coverage on NBC will be produced by NBC's Triple Crown producer Rob Hyland, a veteran of the network's horse racing coverage since 2001, and directed by Sunday Night Football and NBC Sports' Triple Crown director, Drew Esocoff. The coverage on NBC Sports Network is produced by Billy Matthews and directed by Patrick McManus. The executive producer of NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network is Sam Flood, who has produced 11 Triple Crown races for the network.

BELMONT STAKES

Fri. June 7

4 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Belmont Classics

NBC Sports Network

5 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Live From Belmont

NBC Sports Network

Sat. June 8

3 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Belmont Saturday

NBC Sports Network

5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Belmont Stakes

NBC

7 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Belmont Post-Race Show

NBC Sports Network

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA BELMONT STAKES COVERAGE

NBC Sports Live Extra -- the NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets -- will stream Belmont coverage on NBC and NBC Sports Network. The majority of the content will be streamed live via "TV Everywhere," the media industry's effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Content airing on NBC, including the Belmont race, will be streamed to PC's, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra.

Content for the Belmont includes:

An online-only isolation camera on Kentucky Derby winner Orb during the race;
Online-only analysis by NBC Sports commentators in days leading up to race plus post race, online commentary by NBC commentators;
Replays and highlights from the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes;

BELMONT STAKES ALL-ACCESS

NBC Sports Group will implement its All-Access social media strategy for Belmont week on both NBC and NBC Sports Network. A dedicated social media producer will be on-site for behind-the-scenes content including breaking news, photos and video from Belmont.

Twitter: Viewers and Tweeters alike will be encouraged to join the conversation by using the hashtag #BELMONT. Reminders will appear on screen throughout all of NBC's Belmont coverage.

On-air integration of live tweets from celebrities, horse racing experts and @NBCSN will be featured on screen throughout the broadcasts to keep viewers up to date with what's happening on Twitter;

Facebook: Fans will have the chance to join in on the Belmont broadcast:

Everyone at home can pick their winner with the "Choose the Winning Horse" Facebook poll on www.facebook.com/NBCSports. The nation's votes will be tallied and shown on-air during the Belmont broadcast.

16.2 MILLION WATCH KENTUCKY DERBY: NBC Sports' coverage of the Kentucky Derby drew 16.2 million viewers, making it the second most-watched Kentucky Derby since 1989. The viewership for the race is up nine percent from last year's Derby (14.8 million) and up 12 percent from the Derby in 2011 (14.5 million).

Utilizing NBC Sports' 'Big Event Strategy,' three of the last five Kentucky Derby races have recorded at least 16 million viewers.

NBC Sports' coverage of the Kentucky Derby over the last 13 races averages more than 2 million more viewers than the previous 12 Kentucky Derby broadcasts on ABC (14.3 million vs.12.0 million, up 19 percent). NBC's average viewership of 14.3 million over the last 13 Kentucky Derby broadcasts is more than six million more than the last six years that ABC aired the Derby (1995-2000).

Link to NBC's coverage of the Kentucky Derby and hear Larry Collmus call the race: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/51776398#51776398

NEARLY 10 MILLION WATCH PREAKNESS ON NBC: NBC Sports' coverage of the Preakness Stakes drew 9.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched Preakness since 2009, and the fourth most-watched dating back to 1990. The viewership for the race is up 20 percent from last year's Preakness (8.1 million).

Since NBC began broadcasting the Preakness in 2001, every Preakness telecast on NBC over that period has attracted more viewers than any Preakness telecast on ABC in the previous eight years. Viewership for the Preakness is up an average of 61% in the 13 years on NBC compared to the previous eight years on ABC.

Link to NBC's coverage of the Preakness Stakes and hear Larry Collmus call the race: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/21428075#51929016

2012 BELMONT WAS 2nd BEST FOR NON-TRIPLE CROWN ON RECORD: Nearly 7.7 million the 2012 Belmont Stakes on NBC, despite the scratch of Triple Crown-hopeful I'll Have Another on the morning before the race. Last year's viewership topped 2011 by 12% and 2010 by 62%. Last year was the highest for a non-Triple Crown Belmont since 2005 on NBC, and the second-best for a non-Triple Crown Belmont in Nielsen People Meter history (dating back to 1988).

NBC SPORTS GROUP AND HORSE RACING: The 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. NBC has been the exclusive home of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes since 2001, and the Belmont Stakes since 2011, when the NBC Sports Group reassembled the Triple Crown. This year, the NBC Sports Group will present 27½ hours of Triple Crown coverage across NBC and NBC Sports Network.

NBC Sports Group is the home to "Summer at Saratoga," and, in collaboration with The Jockey Club, the Road to the Kentucky Derby series that provides live coverage of six major prep races for the 2013 Kentucky Derby.

AWARDS FOR NBC'S HORSE RACING COVERAGE: Since its involvement in the Triple Crown, NBC Sports has been honored with 12 Eclipse Awards for its thoroughbred racing coverage including the award for Television - Live Program for the 2012 Kentucky Derby. NBC's previous wins in that category include: Preakness (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008), Kentucky Derby (2007), Belmont (2004) and Breeder's Cup (2001). Additionally, NBC Sports has won three Eclipse Awards in the features category: 2002 on War Emblem (Preakness broadcast), 2005 Afleet Alex (Kentucky Derby broadcast) and 2009 Mine That Bird (Preakness broadcast), and the 2005 and 2006 Preakness broadcasts were nominated for the Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Sports Special.

The NBC Sports Network Channel Finder is located at nbcsports.msnbc.com.

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