NBC wins Eclipse Award

NBC's coverage of the Oct. 27 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships from Belmont Park was announced on Thursday as the winner of the Eclipse Award for National Television - Live Racing Programming. This is the fourth Eclipse Award for NBC.

The five-hour show began with the horrifying fall of Exogenous as she came onto the track for the first race of the series, the Distaff, and concluded with Tiznow's dramatic victory for the second straight year in the Classic. The event was run less than seven weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, only 23 miles from Belmont Park.

The show was produced by David Michaels, who said, in a press release, that "this past Breeders' Cup was particularly poignant for a number of reasons.

"It was the first international sporting event to be held in New York City since the Sept. 11 attacks, and right away we were challenged by the horrible accident with Exogenous," Michaels said. "Our team handled the incident with sensitivity and class. It's this class that sets the tone for the day. "

All Eclipse winners receive their trophies at the 31st annual dinner, a black-tie affair held Monday, Feb. 18, at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, Fla.