NBC Sports wins two Eclipse Awards

NBC Sports has been named the winner of two Eclipse Awards, for the network’s live coverage of the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic and for a feature piece on California Chrome that ran just prior to a live broadcast of the Belmont Stakes, organizers of the awards announced Monday.

The Eclipse Award for live television programming was NBC’s 11th in the category, according to the Eclipse Award organizers, and the network’s third consecutive award in the category. NBC devoted one hour in prime time to the Nov. 1. Breeders’ Cup Classic, a broadcast that started out breezily but quickly turned serious when a stewards’ inquiry into the start of the race left the official result in limbo for 10 minutes.

“Our production team did an excellent job telling the stories of this year’s Classic and documenting the drama surrounding the controversial start of the race,” NBC Sports coordinating producer Rob Hyland said in a statement.

The feature on California Chrome ran June 5 on NBC Sports Network, just prior to the highly anticipated running of the Belmont Stakes. California Chrome was seeking the Triple Crown in the Belmont after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

“By the time California Chrome won the Preakness Stakes, it was clear that this horse had captured the imaginations of fans across the country,” NBC Sports supervising producer Jack Fellig said in a statement. “At the same time, the connections became transcendent folk heroes, a blue-collar team who endeared themselves even to fans who might not typically follow Thoroughbred racing.”

The organizers of the Eclipse Awards also announced Monday that The Blood-Horse has been selected for the Eclipse in the audio/multimedia Internet category for a website piece examining the difficulties in winning the Triple Crown. The text of the piece was written by Frank Angst, and it was produced by Claire Novak, the online features editor of the publication.