Continuing to broaden its sports portfolio, CNBC has reached an agreement in
principle with the National Thoroughbred Racing Association to air a series of
races for two-year-old horses beginning late this summer.
The business channel and the racing group announced that the NTRA
Two-Year-Old Challenge will come out of the gate Sept. 1 with the Hopeful
Stakes from Saratoga Racetrack in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
CNBC will televise five other races Sept. 16, Sept. 29 and Oct. 6, as part of
the series for two-year-old colts and geldings leading up to the Breeders' Cup
Juvenile that is part of the Breeders' Cup Championships, which air Oct. 27 on
NBC from Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
NBC is currently in the first of a five-year deal for the Triple Crown
racing series, comprising the Kentucky Derby -- which scored an 8.3 overnight
with Monarchos' victory May 5 -- the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.
Carrying a potential bonus of $1.3 million, the NTRA Two-Year-Old
Challenge series will award $250,000 to the owner of a horse that wins any
of the six designated races and then captures the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
The move into horse racing further expands CNBC's weekend sports roster. The
network is the exclusive cable carrier of golf's Senior PGA Tour, with 33
events. CNBC also features PGA Tour events and teams up with NBC and MSNBC to
provide Olympic Games coverage.
