FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 7th, 2013

COMCAST SPORTSNET BAY AREA PRESENTS LIVE COVERAGE OF EL CAMINO REAL DERBY FROM GOLDEN GATE FIELDS ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16TH

Live One-Hour Coverage of 32nd Running of the

El Camino Real Derby Airing at 4 p.m. PT –

Northern California’s Official Kentucky Derby Prep 

SportsNet Central and Chronicle Live to Provide Week-Long

News, Analysis and Feature Stories Leading up to and Following the Race

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 7, 2013) – Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, the home of “Authentic Bay Area Sports,” will present comprehensive on-site coverage of the El Camino Real Derby, Northern California’s official Kentucky Derby prep, live from Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 16 from 4-5 p.m. PT.  The network’ s one-hour coverage will feature in-depth race preview and analysis, interviews, retrospectives of the Bay Area’s historic racing legacy, culminating with the 32nd running of the El Camino Real Derby.

The Grade 3 $200,000 El Camino Real Derby is Northern California’s premiere race for Kentucky Derby hopefuls.  Three-year-olds will be in the spotlight in this 1 1/8-mile (nine furlongs) test on Golden Gate Fields’ synthetic Tapeta racing surface.   California Derby winner Zeewat, who has Hall of Fame connections in trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and jockey Russell Baze, will head the field in this year’s El Camino Real Derby.

In 31 runnings (1982-2012) the El Camino Real Derby has produced a Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year (Charismatic-1999), two Kentucky Derby runners-up (Cavonnier-1996 and Casual Lies-1992), five Preakness Stakes winners (Charismatic-1999, Tabasco Cat-1994, Snow Chief-1986, Tank’s Prospect-1985, and Gate Dancer-1984), a Belmont Stakes winner (Tabasco Cat-1994), and a Belmont Stakes runner-up (Ten Most Wanted-2003).

Comcast SportsNet’s coverage of the El Camino Real Derby is co-hosted by veteran broadcaster Jim Kozimor (@CSNKoz), alongside HRTV’s host/reporter Scott Hazelton (@Scott_Hazelton).  The broadcast team also includes race-caller Michael Wrona; contributing analyst/handicapper Sam Spear who also hosts KNBR 680 AM’s “At The Track” ; and on-track reporter Mindi Bach (@MBachCSN).

Comcast SportsNet Bay Area’s SportsNet Central and Chronicle Live will present week-long coverage of the El Camino Real Derby with the latest news and analysis, interviews and feature stories.  SportsNet Central is the place for local fans to turn seven nights a week with half-hour newscasts at 6 p.m., 10:30 p.m. and midnight.  Chronicle Live airs live Monday-Friday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and features high energy, interactive roundtable discussions and debates covering the hottest sports stories and topics on the minds of sports fans throughout Northern California.  Visit CSNBayArea.com for more information.

About Comcast SportsNet:

Comcast Sports Group, part of the NBC Sports Group, consists of 14 local networks that deliver 2,400 sporting events annually and breaking news and analysis to more than 50 million cable and satellite homes. Comcast Sports Group’s sports networks are: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Comcast SportsNet California, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Comcast SportsNet New England, Comcast SportsNet Northwest, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, SNY, The Mtn. – Mountain West Sports Network, CSS and Comcast Sports Southwest.  Comcast Sports Group also manages NECN (New England Cable News), the nation’s largest regional news network, and The Comcast Network, based in Philadelphia and Washington, which delivers community-oriented programming.

About Golden Gate Fields:

Golden Gate Fields is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator.  The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness.  The company is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its Adena Springs operation.  The company owns and operates AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology, and XpressBet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service.  The Stronach Group is also a major producer of televised horseracing programming through its HRTV cable and satellite network and is North America’s premier supplier of virtual online horseracing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.