Breeders' Cup Classic gets best overnight rating since 2010

A portion of a broadcast late on Saturday afternoon featuring American Pharoah’s victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic drew a 2.6 overnight rating and six share, the highest rating and share for the race since 2010, according to NBC Sports, which broadcast the Friday and Saturday Breeders’ Cup races on its family of networks.

The 2.6 overnight rating – for a race that went off at approximately 6 p.m. Eastern -- was up 46 percent from the 1.8 rating for last year’s broadcast, which occurred in prime time, just before 8 p.m. Eastern. All broadcasts of the Breeders’ Cup Classic have occurred in prime time since the 2007 event, held at Monmouth Park, making this year’s rating particularly unusual.

This year’s Classic was the last race for American Pharoah, the highly popular winner of the Triple Crown. American Pharoah easily won the race, and he is expected to be shipped to Coolmore Stud in central Kentucky on Monday morning to begin his stud career, according to his connections.

The 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic was the last race for Zenyatta, the highly popular racemare. In that race, she narrowly came up short to Blame, in a dramatic finish that played out under the lights at Churchill Downs.