Fri, 01/27/2012 - 14:15

Crist: Breeders' Cup's return to NBC can only help

By Steven Crist

There are two ways to look at the announcement last week that network television coverage of the Breeders’ Cup is returning to NBC after six years at ESPN.

Pessimists will say that the joint agreement to terminate the ESPN deal two years before its expiration, and the relegation of all but one hour of coverage to the NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus) rather than NBC itself, is a dark sign for the sport. As one commenter on a DRF blog put it last week, “When ESPN dumps your product, it means that you’re toast in the sports world.”

Mon, 01/23/2012 - 11:24

NBC regains television rights to Breeders’ Cup; Classic to air in prime time

By Matt Hegarty

The Breeders’ Cup will be broadcast this year on NBC and its newly renamed NBC Sports Network, in a four-year deal announced Monday that effectively ended the organization’s domestic partnership with ESPN.

The deal includes a commitment by NBC to broadcast the Breeders’ Cup Classic on its flagship network in prime time. The Classic will be run this year between 8 and 9 p.m. Eastern, the latest time that the Classic has ever been run. This year’s Breeders’ Cup will be held at Santa Anita on Nov. 2-3.

Mon, 11/21/2011 - 14:43

Drosselmeyer stallion deal made for quick return on investment

By Glenye Cain Oakford
Barbara D. Livingston
Lexington bloodstock adviser Tom Clark and New York breeder John Hicks were in a win-win situation with Drosselmeyer (above) before the Breeders' Cup.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The stallion deal that sent Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Drosselmeyer to WinStar Farm last week also resulted in a quick return for investors who bought most of the colt’s breeding rights 12 days before the Classic.

Tue, 11/08/2011 - 16:53

Royal Delta brings $8.5M at Keeneland November sale

By Glenye Cain Oakford

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ladies’ Classic winner Royal Delta, the only 2011 Breeders’ Cup winner to be offered at Kentucky’s November sales, came from Churchill Downs to Keeneland’s auction ring Tuesday and blew the roof off the market, selling for $8.5 million to Benjamin Leon’s Besilu Stables.

Mon, 11/07/2011 - 16:05

Breeders' Cup Sprint rematch may be down the line

By Mike Welsch
Barbara D. Livingston
Amazombie (left), with Mike Smith up, defeats Force Freeze by a neck in the BC Sprint.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Amazombie defeated Force Freeze by a neck to capture Saturday’s $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint, and the connections of both are already making plans that could put them on the path to a rematch in the 2012 Sprint at Santa Anita.

Mon, 11/07/2011 - 15:01

Breeders' Cup television ratings drop along with handle

By Matt Hegarty

Despite the addition of a 15th race this year, total commingled handle on the Breeders’ Cup declined by 5.1 percent this year compared with last year’s record total, with several factors, most prominently the absence of a superstar like Zenyatta, contributing to the drop.

Mon, 11/07/2011 - 13:13

No clear-cut Horse of the Year favorite after Breeders' Cup

By Jay Privman
Barbara D. Livingston
Drosselmeyer's upset win in the Breeders' Cup Classic has muddled the Horse of the Year picture.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Breeders’ Cup was designed to determine champions, but this year’s event here at Churchill Downs was so punctuated by unexpected results that a number of year-end honors will remain in doubt right up until the time envelopes are opened at the Eclipse Awards dinner in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 16, first and foremost being Horse of the Year.

Mon, 11/07/2011 - 11:21

Uncle Mo retired from racing

By David Grening
Barbara D. Livingston
Uncle Mo finished 10th in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic in his final career start.

No more Mo.

Uncle Mo, last year’s 2-year-old champion colt who finished 10th in Saturday’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs, has been retired from racing, owner Mike Repole said Monday.

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