NTRA release

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s (NTRA) Website, NTRA.com, will offer free, live video streaming this Saturday of the Grade II, $300,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes from Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., The Coolmore Lexington represents one of the final opportunities for horses to pick up the graded stakes earnings so crucial to secure a starting berth in the Kentucky Derby. 

In 1999, Charismatic parlayed a Lexington win into victories in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. This year’s event drew a full field of 12, led by Uptowncharlybrown, who captured the Pasco Stakes earlier this year at Tampa Bay Downs, prior to finishing third in that track’s Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes and fifth in the Tampa Bay Derby. Uptowncharlybrown will also be a strong sentimental choice given the passing earlier this week of his trainer Alan Seewald. Trainers Todd Pletcher and John Sadler—the respective conditioners of early Derby favorites Eskendereya and Sidney’s Candy—will also all be represented in the Lexington.  Pletcher will saddle Rushaway Stakes winner Exhi, while Sadler will be send out Distorted Dave.

Saturday’s program, to be anchored by ESPN/ABC analyst and NFL Network host Randy Moss, will begin at 5:00 p.m. (EDT), with post time for the Coolmore Lexington slated for 5:15 p.m. (EDT). Moss will break down the Lexington and interview one or more of its trainers prior to the race’s scheduled 5:15 p.m. (EDT) post time.

The Coolmore Lexington also will be televised live on TVG from 4:30-5:30 p.m. (EDT). That program will additionally air on several Fox Sports affiliates and SunSports. Todd Schrupp, Matt Carothers, Donna Barton Brothers and Tom Amoss will be on-track live at Keeneland, with Christina Olivares anchoring coverage in the TVG studios in Los Angeles.

The Coolmore Lexington Stakes is one of several races leading to the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup World Championships that will be Webcast live on NTRA.com. The series, called “NTRA Live!”, will feature interviews with handicappers and on-track analysts, interactive chats with viewers, pre-and post-race analysis, handicapping selections, easy access to free past performance data and advance deposit wagering platforms, as well as other original and unique programming components. The programs are produced and directed by Tim Turrell, who has produced numerous telecasts on horse racing and other sports for ESPN, The Golf Channel and others. Access to the Webcast is free.

The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of horse racing interests consisting of leading Thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers, horseplayers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic conditions for industry participants. The NTRA has offices in Lexington, Ky., and Rye Brook, N.Y. NTRA press releases appear on the NTRA web site, NTRA.com.