NBC removes Stephen Foster from national broadcast

A one-hour live-television broadcast on NBC of the Stephen Foster Stakes on July 1 has been removed from the schedule due to “logistical concerns” created by the relocation of the race from Churchill Downs in Louisville to Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., Breeders’ Cup said on Thursday.

The Stephen Foster Stakes was set to kick off a six-broadcast lineup of live coverage of Win and You’re In prep races for the Breeders’ Cup event, scheduled this year for November 3-4 at Santa Anita in Southern California. The Stephen Foster awards the winner with an automatic, fees-paid berth to the richest race in the Breeders’ Cup lineup, the $6 million Classic.

Churchill abruptly suspended live racing early in June and moved its race meet to Ellis Park, a track the company owns in Western Kentucky, after a spate of deaths at the track in the previous five weeks drew attention from national media. Ellis is a much smaller track than Churchill, and the facility has not hosted a national television broadcast in its history.

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