FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021

ESSENTIAL QUALITY, KNICKS GO & MEDINA SPIRIT HEADLINE $6 MILLION BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC THIS SATURDAY, NOV. 6 AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBC AND PEACOCK

NBC Sports Presents 11.5 Live Coverage Hours of the Richest Two Days in Horse Racing – The 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships from Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California

Coverage Begins Thursday, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN with “Betting the Breeders’ Cup”; Live Race Coverage Begins Friday, Nov. 5 at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN & Saturday, Nov. 6 at 2:30 ET on NBCSN

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

STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 2, 2021 – NBC Sports presents 11.5 hours of live coverage of the 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships this weekend – 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. 6, live from Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif. at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Highlighting Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic field:

    • Essential Quality: 2021 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner, trained by Brad Cox;
    • Knicks Go: Korea Racing Authority’s five-year-old has won four of six starts this year, including victories in the Pegasus World Cup and the Whitney;
    • Medina Spirit: Finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, trained by Bob Baffert;
    • Hot Rod Charlie: Trained by Doug O’Neill, finished second in the 2021 Belmont Stakes and won the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 25.

Live coverage of the 38th Breeders’ Cup World Championships begins Thursday, Nov. 4, at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN with handicapping special “Betting the Breeders’ Cup.” Live racing coverage begins Friday, Nov. 5, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by 6.5 live hours on Saturday, Nov. 6, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and continuing on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET.

2021 BREEDERS’ CUP TELEVISION SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES ET)
Date Time Event Platform
Thurs., Nov. 4 5 p.m. Betting the Breeders’ Cup NBCSN
Fri., Nov. 5 5 p.m. Breeders’ Cup World Championships NBCSN
Sat., Nov. 6 2:30 p.m. Breeders’ Cup World Championships NBCSN
Sat., Nov. 6 8 p.m. Breeders’ Cup Classic NBC, Peacock

 

COMMENTATORS: Ahmed Fareed hosts coverage throughout the weekend alongside analyst and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who owns 15 Breeders’ Cup wins; analyst Randy Moss; reporters Laffit Pincay III and Nick Luck; analyst/handicapper Eddie Olczyk and handicapper Matt Bernier; insights analyst Steve Kornacki; 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. Maria Taylor makes her horse racing debut as the host of the primetime show Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Thursday afternoon’s “Betting the Breeders’ Cup” special features Eurton, Luck, Olczyk, Bernier, and Kornacki.

Programming highlights include:

    • Unique perspectives from the track through multiple live jockey cams and jockey and trainer/owner mics
      • This year, jockey cams will connect to real-time data viewers will see reflected in graphic overlays on replays, including speed, current position, distance from the leader, and distance from the finish
    • Breeders’ Cup Contender Cam featuring 14 paddock ISO cameras and 10 front-side ISO roof cameras
    • Drone camera coverage and Megalodon camera
    • An outrider camera capturing intimate moments with the winning jockey immediately following the race
    • Celebrities make their Breeders’ Cup Classic picks
    • Maria Taylor catches up with the members of Boat Racing, the five former Brown University football teammates who are part-owners in Hot Rod Charlie
    • A feature on Distaff favorite Letruska – a horse of the year candidate – and what she means to her trainer, Fausto Gutierrez
    • Nick Luck interviews Charlie Scheeler, the Chairman of the Board of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority
    • A tribute to the late Bob Neumeier, who was a fixture on NBC Sports’ Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup horse racing coverage
    • Access to approximately 75 video sources, including cameras and feeds

 

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 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships consists of 14 races over two days at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif. 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 AND HORSE RACING: NBC Sports 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–