FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 4th, 2020

TIZ THE LAW, MAXIMUM SECURITY & AUTHENTIC HEADLINE $6 MILLION BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC THIS SATURDAY, NOV. 7 AT 2:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

NBC Sports Presents 10.5 Live Coverage Hours of the Richest Two Days in Horse Racing – The 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships from Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky

Coverage Begins Tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN with “Betting the Breeders’ Cup”; Live Race Coverage Begins Friday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN & Saturday, Nov. 7 at Noon ET on NBCSN

Coverage Streamed Live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app

STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 4, 2020 – NBC Sports this weekend presents 10.5 hours of live coverage of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships – the richest two days in horse racing – with $31 million in prize money at stake in 14 races. Highlighting the coverage is the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic this Saturday, Nov. 7, live from Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Highlighting Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic field:

    • Tiz the Law: 2020 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner, trained by Barclay Tagg
    • Authentic: 2020 Kentucky Derby winner trained by Bob Baffert;
    • Maximum Security: Finished first in the 2019 Kentucky Derby before being disqualified; now trained by Baffert
    • Improbable: Trained by Baffert; won his past three Grade 1 races in 2020
    • Tom’s d’Etat: Owned by New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson and named after her late husband, Tom Benson; won 2019 Clark Stakes (Grade 1) and 2020 Stephen Foster Stakes (Grade 2). Benson’s Saints visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following day, on Sunday Night Football, this Sunday, Nov. 8 at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.

 

Live coverage of the 37th Breeders’ Cup World Championships begins tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN with handicapping special “Betting the Breeders’ Cup.” Live racing coverage begins Friday, Nov. 6, at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by 4.5 live hours on Saturday, Nov. 7, beginning at Noon ET on NBCSN and continuing on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET.

“The Breeders’ Cup is perhaps the only sport in which the product on the field has actually benefitted from the pandemic,” said analyst Randy Moss. “Because many racetracks were closed in the spring, horses couldn’t run as often, and now they are fresher and healthier in November than ever before. Now if only there were fans in the seats.”

“At last, the Breeders’ Cup is upon us, and in this crazy year there is no more fitting venue to host it than Keeneland in all its fall splendor,” said analyst Jerry Bailey, a five-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner. “The highlight will certainly be the Classic, with a very deep and competitive field headed by Bob Baffert, who brings a strong trio led by Kentucky Derby winner Authentic.”

2020 BREEDERS’ CUP TELEVISION SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES ET)
Date Time Event Network
Thurs., Nov. 5 2 p.m. Betting the Breeders’ Cup NBCSN
Fri., Nov. 6 2 p.m. Breeders’ Cup World Championships NBCSN
Sat., Nov. 6 Noon Breeders’ Cup World Championships NBCSN
Sun., Nov. 7 2:30 p.m. Breeders’ Cup Classic NBC

 

COMMENTATORS: Ahmed Fareed hosts coverage this weekend at Keeneland, joined by analyst and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who owns 15 Breeders’ Cup wins; analyst Randy Moss; host/reporter Laffit Pincay III and reporter Nick Luck; analyst/handicapper Eddie Olczyk and handicapper Matt Bernier, and reporters Kenny Rice, Donna Brothers, and Britney Eurton. NBC’s Triple Crown race caller Larry Collmus will call all of the Breeders’ Cup races. Thursday afternoon’s “Betting the Breeders’ Cup” special features Pincay, Luck, Olczyk, Eurton, and Bernier.

Programming highlights include:

    • Unique perspectives from the track through multiple live jockey cams and jockey and trainer mics
    • Actress and model Kate Upton will be featured before the Classic on NBC
    • Athletes/Celebrities including Upton, Bo Derek, Joel McHale, Jack McBrayer, Brian Baumgartner, Chris Long, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, pitcher for the 2020 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Lexington, Kent. native Walker Buehler, and more make their Breeders’ Cup Classic picks
    • NBC Sports’ Tim Layden delivers an essay sharing his perspective on racing in 2020
    • Available now on NBCSports.com, Layden writes about Meg Levy, a breeder once saved by horses, who has now dedicated her life to saving them
    • A feature on 2020 Preakness winner Swiss Skydiver with owner Peter Callahan, who named Swiss Skydiver for his granddaughter after she went skydiving over the Swiss Alps
    • Access to 80+ cameras – nearly double last year
    • Fan Cam – Joining Fan parties from around the world
    • Most broadcast network coverage since 2005

 

NBC Sports’ coverage of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships is produced by Lindsay Schanzer and Billy Matthews, and directed by Kaare Numme. The coordinating producer of NBC’s horse racing coverage is Rob Hyland, who has been a part of the network’s horse racing coverage since 2001. Executive producer and president, production, NBC Sports and NBCSN is Sam Flood.

BREEDERS’ CUP COVERAGE ON COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.COM, NBC SPORTS APP & PEACOCK

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream live coverage to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TVs via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC’s broadcasts. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast. NBC Sports.com, the NBC Sports app, and Peacock – NBCUniversal’s streaming service – will provide a full race replay of the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

BREEDERS’ CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships consists of 14 races over two days at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky and features a total of $31 million in purses and awards. The culminating event of the Breeders’ Cup, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, is contested at 1 ¼ miles on the main track, for 3-year-olds and older. Breeders’ Cup Limited administers the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing’s year-end Championships.  The Breeders’ Cup also administers the Breeders’ Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. Breeders’ Cup press releases appear on the Breeders’ Cup Web site, www.breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders’ Cup on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

 

NBC SPORTS GROUP AND HORSE RACING: NBC Sports Group is the exclusive home to the most important and prestigious events in horse racing, including the Triple Crown, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Royal Ascot, and Pegasus World Cup Invitational Series. NBC has been the exclusive home of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes since 2001, and the Belmont Stakes since 2011, when NBC Sports Group reassembled the Triple Crown.

–NBC SPORTS–