FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 14th, 2012

NYRA AND NBC SPORTS GROUP ANNOUNCE 2012 SUMMER AT SARATOGA LIVE BROADCAST SCHEDULE

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. and NEW YORK – June 14, 2012 – The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the NBC Sports Group have announced the schedule for this year’s Summer at Saratoga series, with five live broadcasts from Saratoga Race Course, starting on Saturday, August 11, going through Saturday, September 1, and including marquee races such as the Alabama, Travers, and Woodward.

 

Last 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, and following the meet, NYRA and the NBC Sports Group announced a two-year extension for Summer at Saratoga, which will bring live national coverage of the Saratoga meet through 2013.

 

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

 

  • Saturday, August 11 – 6:00-7:00 PM ET – NBC Sports Network – Grade 2, $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap
  • Sunday, August 12 – 6:00-7:00 PM ET – NBC Sports Network – Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack and Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special
  • Saturday, August 18 – 5:00-6:00 PM ET – NBC Sports Network – Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama and Grade 1, $600,000 Sword Dancer Invitational
  • Saturday, August 25 – 4:00-6:00 PM ET – NBC – Grade 1, $1 million Travers, Grade 1, $500,000 Foxwoods King’s Bishop, Grade 1, $500,000 Test, Grade 2, $250,000 Ballston Spa presented by Jose Cuervo
  • Saturday, September 1 – 5:00-6:00 PM ET – NBC – Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward. Grade 1, $500,000 Forego, Grade 2, $250,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap

 

Saratoga Race Course was named one of the world’s top 10 venues of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated. From late July through Labor Day, many of the sport’s top owners, trainers, jockeys, and horses gather in Saratoga Springs for the premier thoroughbred racing meet in the country. First held in 1863, the Saratoga meet regularly draws more than 20,000 passionate racing fans to the track on a daily basis.

 

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, which was broadcast on NBC from 1984-2005. Last year marked the first time that all three Triple Crown races appeared on one network since NBC last aired the Triple Crown in 2005. NBC has been the exclusive home of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes since 2001. This year, the NBC Sports Group presented 32 hours of Triple Crown coverage across NBC and NBC Sports Network.

 

NBC Sports Group is also the home to Summer at Saratoga, and, in collaboration with The Jockey Club, the Road to the Kentucky Derby series that provided live coverage of six major prep races for the 2012 Kentucky Derby.

 

NYRA: Founded in 1955, and franchised to run thoroughbred racing at New York’s three major tracks (Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course) through 2033, NYRA boasts a lineage that actually stretches back almost 150 years. NYRA tracks are the cornerstone of the state’s thoroughbred business, which contributes more than $2 billion annually to New York State’s urban, suburban and rural economy. In 2011, more than 1.8 million people attended the live races at NYRA tracks. Factoring in nationwide off-track wagering, the average daily betting handle on NYRA races totals more than $8.1 million. NYRA has a vast network of websites, including www.nyra.com, www.belmontstakes.com, and www.nyragroupsales.com. You can also follow NYRA on social media platforms Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube.