Preakness television ratings decline

The national television rating for the race portion of the Preakness Stakes broadcast on NBC declined 7 percent compared with the same rating last year, according to the network.

The final rating for the race was a 5.2 with a 13 share, down from a 5.6 rating and 13 share last year. According to NBC, approximately 8.1 million viewers watched the race, compared with 8.8 million viewers last year.

Much of the Midwest and Northeast enjoyed warm, sunny weather on Saturday, and that typically reduces television viewership.

The Preakness was won by I’ll Have Another, who won the Kentucky Derby two weeks earlier. With a Triple Crown on the line in the Belmont Stakes on June 9 – the first since 2008 – television ratings for the Belmont are expected to spike.