Belmont Stakes TV ratings decline

The two-hour broadcast of the Belmont Stakes on NBC Saturday drew a 4.3 rating, the network said Sunday, down 6.5 percent from the rating of the same broadcast in 2013, when no Triple Crown was on the line as well.

Share for the broadcast was a 10, NBC said. Share measures the percentage of televisions in use at the time that are turned to a specific broadcast.

The rating and share for this year is down sharply from last year, when American Pharoah was seeking to end a 37-year Triple Crown drought with a Belmont win. That broadcast posted a 12.3 overnight rating and 27 share.

Television ratings and overall business figures for the Belmont Stakes are highly dependent on whether a Triple Crown is on the line or not. Both 2014 and 2015 featured Triple Crown runs. This year, the Kentucky Derby winner, Nyquist, skipped the Belmont after spiking a fever shortly after running third in the Preakness.

The rating for Saturday’s broadcast, which ran from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern, peaked at a 5.1 and 12 share during the race portion of the program, NBC said.