NTRA release

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association today announced that ESPN has won the Media Eclipse Award for National Television – Live Racing, for its telecast of the 2009 Belmont Stakes. The Belmont Stakes program, which was produced by Mike McQuade, aired on ABC on June 6, 2009 from Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The Live Television Media Eclipse for ESPN will be presented at the 39th Annual Eclipse Awards, honoring Thoroughbred racing’s champions of 2009, on Monday, Jan. 18 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

“We are extremely proud to win this award,” said McQuade, who is senior coordinating producer for ESPN. “No one works harder on this sport than we do. It’s a true year-round commitment to horse racing by this group of individuals.

“For this year’s Belmont, we wanted to give the viewers knowledge of as many individuals involved in the race as possible, not just the favorites, but all of the connections, and provide them an overall context for the show.”

As a part of its presentation, ESPN focused on the improbable story of jockey Calvin Borel, who was trying to become the first rider to sweep the three legs of the Triple Crown with two different horses. Borel had captured the Kentucky Derby on 50-1 longshot Mine That Bird, only to leave him for the filly Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness Stakes. But three weeks later, with Rachel Alexandra not entered, Borel was reunited with Mine That Bird for the Belmont.  ESPN interviewed Borel before the race from the Jockeys’ room, and again following Mine That Bird’s third-place finish, when ESPN raised the question of whether Borel had moved prematurely to the lead.

ESPN also captured the emotional responses of winning trainer Tim Ice and rider Kent Desormeaux, following Summer Bird’s upset victory. For Desormeaux, the triumph represented vindication after he had lost the 2008 Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown aboard odds-on favorite Big Brown.  

In addition, the ESPN production was boosted by technical enhancements, including  virtual pre-race graphics and analysis of the 1 ½ miles of the Belmont Stakes by Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey. ESPN also featured increased audio and camera coverage of the starting gate as the horses were loading for the race.

The Belmont Stakes telecast was directed by Doug Holmes.  Joe Tessitore hosted the program. He was joined by analysts Randy Moss, Kenny Mayne and Jerry Bailey. Jeannine Edwards and Jay Privman were the reporters, and Hank Goldberg was the handicapper.  The two-hour ABC telecast was preceded by five hours of coverage from Belmont Park on ESPN.

Judges for the National Television – Live Racing category were: Rob Duboff of Hawk Partners; Chris Svendsen of CBS Sports and Paul Lucey of Comcast Sportsnet – New England. Honorable mention in the National Television Live Programming also went to ESPN for its production of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Nov. 7, 2009. Tim Turrell and David Ceisler were the producers of the telecast.

The Eclipse Awards are presented by the NTRA, National Turf Writers Association (NTWA) and Daily Racing Form. Eclipse Awards are bestowed upon horses and individuals whose outstanding achievements in North America have earned them the title of Champion in their respective categories. Awards also are given to recognize members of the media for outstanding coverage of Thoroughbred racing.

The 39th Annual Eclipse Awards will be held on Monday, January 18 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. For hotel accommodations and Eclipse Awards ceremony reservations, contact Michele Ravencraft at the NTRA’s Lexington office, (800) 792-6872, or e-mail mravencraft@ntra.com. 

The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.

The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers 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 in New York. NTRA press releases appear on the NTRA web site, NTRA.com.