November 24, 2024

NBC’s Summer at Saratoga coverage extended through 2013

Last updated: 9/21/11 11:50 AM


Due to the success of the inaugural series, the New York Racing Association
(NYRA) and the NBC Sports Group have announced a two-year extension for Summer
at Saratoga, which will bring live national coverage of the Saratoga Race Course
meet through 2013.

This year’s NBC Sports Group coverage of the Saratoga meet marked the most
extensive live national broadcast presence ever of racing from the prestigious
track, including three hour-long shows on NBC and five on VERSUS, spanning seven
weekends in total. VERSUS will be re-named the NBC Sports Network on January 2,
2012.

“The NBC Sports Group’s landmark coverage of this summer’s Saratoga meet was
phenomenal,” NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward said. “NBC and VERSUS took
everything that is special about Saratoga, from the incredible racing to the
unparalleled fan experience to the storied history and beauty of the track and
the town, and conveyed those elements to viewers across the country. We are very
excited to extend this partnership for at least two more years and are already
looking forward to the 2012 meet.”

“We are excited to extend our partnership with Charles Hayward and NYRA, one
of our valued Triple Crown partners, to present Summer at Saratoga for two more
years,” said Jon Miller, president of Programming, NBC Sports and VERSUS.
“Saratoga is one of the iconic venues in American sports, and we couldn’t be
happier with the multi-platform success we shared in the first year of this
partnership.”

Highlights of this summer’s NBC and VERSUS coverage included Stay Thirsty
(Bernardini) surging to the top of the three-year-old division with victories in
the Jim Dandy (G2) and Travers (G1), Tizway (Tiznow) making his Horse of the
Year case with an emphatic Whitney (G1) triumph, and Havre de Grace (Saint Liam)
becoming only the second filly in history to win the Woodward (G1).

The tentative schedule for the NBC Sports Group’s live coverage of the 2012
Saratoga meet is as follows:






Saturday, August 11 — 6-7
p.m. (ET) – NBC Sports Network
Sunday, August 12 — 4-6
p.m. (ET) – NBC Sports Network
Saturday, August 18 — 5-6
p.m. (ET) – NBC Sports Network
Saturday, August 25 — 4-6
p.m. (ET) – NBC
Saturday, September 1 —
5-6 p.m. (ET) – NBC

In addition to the Summer at Saratoga series, the NBC Sports Group recently
announced an agreement to showcase Autumn at Keeneland this October.