NBC's Summer at Saratoga coverage extended through 2013

Due to the success of the inaugural series, the New York Racing Association

(NYRA) and the NBC Sports Group have announced a two-year extension for Summer

at Saratoga, which will bring live national coverage of the Saratoga Race Course

meet through 2013.

This year's NBC Sports Group coverage of the Saratoga meet marked the most

extensive live national broadcast presence ever of racing from the prestigious

track, including three hour-long shows on NBC and five on VERSUS, spanning seven

weekends in total. VERSUS will be re-named the NBC Sports Network on January 2,

2012.

"The NBC Sports Group's landmark coverage of this summer's Saratoga meet was

phenomenal," NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward said. "NBC and VERSUS took

everything that is special about Saratoga, from the incredible racing to the

unparalleled fan experience to the storied history and beauty of the track and

the town, and conveyed those elements to viewers across the country. We are very

excited to extend this partnership for at least two more years and are already

looking forward to the 2012 meet."

"We are excited to extend our partnership with Charles Hayward and NYRA, one

of our valued Triple Crown partners, to present Summer at Saratoga for two more

years," said Jon Miller, president of Programming, NBC Sports and VERSUS.

"Saratoga is one of the iconic venues in American sports, and we couldn't be

happier with the multi-platform success we shared in the first year of this

partnership."

Highlights of this summer's NBC and VERSUS coverage included Stay Thirsty

(Bernardini) surging to the top of the three-year-old division with victories in

the Jim Dandy (G2) and Travers (G1), Tizway (Tiznow) making his Horse of the

Year case with an emphatic Whitney (G1) triumph, and Havre de Grace (Saint Liam)

becoming only the second filly in history to win the Woodward (G1).

The tentative schedule for the NBC Sports Group's live coverage of the 2012

Saratoga meet is as follows:

In addition to the Summer at Saratoga series, the NBC Sports Group recently

announced an agreement to showcase Autumn at Keeneland this October.