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BREEDERS' CUP AND NBC SPORTS GROUP ANNOUNCE 2015 "BREEDERS' CUP CHALLENGE SERIES: WIN AND YOU'RE IN" SCHEDULE
10 LIVE PROGRAMS FEATURING TOP QUALIFYING RACES FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TO BE ENHANCED BY MULTI-MEDIA MARKETING PLATFORM
NEW YORK (April 9, 2015) - The Breeders' Cup and NBC Sports Group today announced the 2015 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In"(TM) television schedule featuring 18 of the best Challenge races leading to the World Championships from top racetracks across the United States. All races will be broadcast by NBC Sports Group and will be supported by an integrated marketing campaign.
The "Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In"(TM), now in its second year, consists of 10 telecasts on NBC and NBCSN and features 18 "Win And You're In" races. Winners of these highly prestigious races, which offer more than $13 million in purses and awards, automatically qualify for a spot in the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. (Oct. 30-31).
Six of the 10 series telecasts will be broadcast on NBC and four will be televised on NBCSN.
The expanded NBC Sports partnership includes multiplatform rights to the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races, which will also be featured on NBC's digital and mobile applications.
"Our 2015 season with NBC Sports Group continues a very successful expanded network partnership with the Challenge series designed to showcase the highest quality races from some of the nation's premier racetracks" said Craig Fravel, Breeders' Cup President and CEO. "The broad exposure of the "Win and You're In" series combined with our digital marketing initiatives give us a great opportunity to provide fans with a clear path to the Championships and enhance the Breeders' Cup brand."
Putting the spotlight on premier racetracks across the country, the 2015 television series begins with qualifying races on Belmont Stakes Day, June 6 from Belmont Park, in the Metropolitan Handicap and the Ogden Phipps.
The series continues the following Saturday evening, June 13, on NBCSN with the live telecast of the newest race to the televised series, the Stephen Foster Handicap from Churchill Downs. The 1 1/8 mile Foster will be the first of five televised automatic qualifiers for the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, North America's richest race, shown on the "Breeders' Cup Challenge Series" this year.
In the summer, the series jumps from coast to coast with Classic qualifiers at Santa Anita for the Gold Cup and then back east to Monmouth Park for the William Hill Haskell Invitational, won by last year's Breeders' Cup Classic winner Bayern. In August, there will be three programs from historic Saratoga, including the Whitney, Travers Stakes and The Woodward. The series travels back to Belmont Park in the fall for The Jockey Club Gold, and concludes at this year's Breeders' Cup host site, Keeneland, for the Shadwell Turf Mile and Juddmonte Spinster Stakes, among others.
In addition, several NBC Sports Regional Networks will present replays of select races after their initial airings on NBC and NBCSN.
"We are excited to present our second series of Breeders' Cup Challenge telecasts, which will help to build interest as we move from the Triple Crown races through the summer and on to the eagerly-anticipated Breeders' Cup World Championships in the fall," said Jon Miller, President of Programming for NBC and NBCSN.
Last November, Breeders' Cup and NBC Sports Group announced a 10-year agreement in which the World Championships will be televised by NBC and NBCSN through 2025.
NBC Sports Group's coverage of the Breeders' Cup will be streamed on NBCSports.com and on the NBC Sports Live Extra app on mobile and tablet devices. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Windows Store.
To support the new Challenge Series, the Breeders' Cup will be launching a multi-channel marketing effort that will aim to attract new fans to the telecasts and sport.
Other Challenge platform assets include:
· A dedicated Challenge Series website with unique content and a team of writers, producers and experts, including NBC Sports Group personality Randy Moss, focusing on racing, lifestyle and human interest features from some of the country's most iconic racetracks. http://challenge.breederscup.com/
· The Breeders' Cup Million Dollar Finish fantasy game, a national consumer promotion that will allow fans to play along at home during each show to win great prizes.
Below is the "Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win And You're In" schedule on NBC and NBCSN. Breeders' Cup Challenge races are listed in bold.
Date Time (ET) Network Event Track Challenge/Division
Sat., June 6 2:30-5 p.m. NBCSN Metropolitan Handicap Belmont Park Dirt Mile
Sat., June 6 2:30-5 p.m. NBCSN Ogden Phipps H. Belmont Park Distaff
Sat., June 13 8:30-10 p.m. NBCSN Stephen Foster Churchill Downs Classic
Sat., June 13 8:30-10 p.m. NBCSN Fleur De Lis Churchill Downs Distaff
Sat., June 13 8:30-10 p.m. NBCSN Breeders' Cup Challenge at Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Distaff
Sat., June 27 8-9 p.m. NBCSN The Gold Cup at Santa Anita Santa Anita Park Classic
Sat., June 27 8-9 p.m. NBCSN TBD Stakes Santa Anita Park Classic
Sat., July 4 5-6 p.m. NBC Belmont Oaks Belmont Park F/M Turf
Sat., July 4 5-6 p.m. NBC Suburban Belmont Park Classic
Sun., Aug. 2 5-6 p.m. NBC William Hill Haskell Invitational Monmouth Park Classic
Sat., Aug. 8 5-6 p.m. NBC Whitney H. Saratoga Racecourse Classic
Sat., Aug. 8 5-6 p.m. NBC Longines Test S. Saratoga Racecourse F/M Sprint Division
Sat., Aug. 8 5-6 p.m. NBC Summer at Saratoga Saratoga Racecourse F/M Sprint Division
Sat., Aug. 29 4-6 p.m. NBC Travers S. Saratoga Racecourse Classic Division
Sat., Aug. 29 4-6 p.m. NBC Sword Dancer Saratoga Racecourse Turf
Sat., Aug. 29 4-6 p.m. NBC TBD Challenge Stakes Saratoga Racecourse TBD
Sat., Aug. 29 4-6 p.m. NBC TBD Stakes Saratoga Racecourse TBD
Sat., Aug. 29 4-6 p.m. NBC Summer at Saratoga Saratoga Racecourse TBD
Sat., Sept. 5 5-6 p.m. NBCSN Woodward S. Saratoga Racecourse Classic Division
Sat., Sept. 5 5-6 p.m. NBCSN Spinaway S. Saratoga Racecourse Juvenile Fillies
Sat., Sept. 5 5-6 p.m. NBCSN Summer at Saratoga Saratoga Racecourse Juvenile Fillies
Sat., Oct. 3 5-6 p.m. NBC Claiborne Breeders' Futurity Keeneland Racecourse Juvenile
Sat., Oct. 3 5-6 p.m. NBC Shadwell Mile Keeneland Racecourse Mile
Sat., Oct. 3 5-6 p.m. NBC Jockey Club Gold Cup Belmont Park Classic
Sun., Oct. 4 5-6 p.m. NBC Dixiana Bourbon S. Keeneland Race Course Juvenile Turf
Sun., Oct. 4 5-6 p.m. NBC Juddmonte Spinster S. Keeneland Race Course Distaff
The complete 2015 Breeders' Cup Challenge schedule will be released later this week.
About Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup administers the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing's year-end Championships. The Breeders' Cup also administers the Breeders' Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. The 2015 Breeders' Cup World Championships, consisting of 13 grade 1 races and purses and awards totaling $26 million will be held October 30-31 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., and will be televised live by the NBC Sports Group. Breeders' Cup press releases appear on the Breeders' Cup Web site, www.breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders' Cup on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
About NBC Sports Group
When the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction was completed in January 2011, the sports assets of the two companies combined to form NBC Sports Group, which serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of a unique array of sports assets, including NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN (NBC Sports Network), Golf Channel, 10 NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio and NBC Sports Digital. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, PGA of America, Churchill Downs, Premier League, Tour de France, French Open, Formula One, IndyCar and many more.
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is not a sponsor of the Million Dollar Finish promotion.
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