The Jockey Club, in collaboration with the NBC Sports Group, CNBC and six
racetracks, will provide live coverage of six major prep races for the 2012
Kentucky Derby over four consecutive weekends next spring, it was announced
Tuesday.
The series will be highlighted by a 90-minute live broadcast on NBC featuring
the Grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby
at on April 7, 2012.
The other four Kentucky Derby prep races are the Grade 3 Spiral Stakes from
Turfway Park on March 24 and the Grade 1 Florida Derby from Gulfstream Park on
March 31, both of which will air on the NBC Sports Network (which will be
renamed from VERSUS on January 2), and the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes from
Keeneland and the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby from Oaklawn Park, which will air on
CNBC on April 14.
“The Jockey Club is proud to work with our television and racetrack partners
to bring more of our sport’s best racing to a national audience,” said Ogden
Mills Phipps, Chairman of The Jockey Club. “Increasing the television presence
of Thoroughbred racing is just the first step in a long term, multi-media
strategy focused on fan retention and development. Together with racetracks and
other industry organizations, we plan to aggressively cross-promote Thoroughbred
racing on a variety of traditional and new digital media platforms.”
“These races are important steppingstones to the Kentucky Derby,” said Jon
Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “And this
programming further demonstrates the NBC Sports Group’s commitment to the sport
of Thoroughbred racing, which already includes long-term deals for the Triple
Crown races as well as with Saratoga and Keeneland.”
Increased television coverage of Thoroughbred racing and the development of a
new digital media strategy were among nine recommendations identified in the
major economic study of the Thoroughbred industry that was commissioned by The
Jockey Club, and conducted in association with the management consulting firm
McKinsey & Company, earlier this year. The findings and recommendations were
announced in August at The Jockey Club’s Round Table Conference in Saratoga
Springs, New York.