NBC Sports to Broadcast Dubai World Cup
Description:
NBC Sports viewers will get the chance to watch the world's top-ranked racehorse Arrogate compete in the US$10m Dubai World Cup from Meydan Racecourse later this month, following an agreement with Racecourse Media Group (RMG).
The live three-hour NBC Sports Network broadcast will include four group 1 races, culminating with the Dubai World Cup (sponsored by Emirates Airline). The 2016 Longines World's Best Racehorse, Arrogate, is the headline attraction as he bids to emulate last year's winner and 2016 American Horse of the Year, California Chrome.
RMG, the UK-based media rights organisation, manages the distribution of all racing from Meydan Group LLC and will supply NBCSN with live coverage of one of the highlights of the global horseracing calendar from 9.30am to 12.30pm ET on March 25.
Breeders' Cup Classic and Pegasus World Cup hero, Arrogate, could be joined in the feature event by compatriots Gun Runner, Hoppertunity, Keen Ice, Neolithic and Imperative. There could be as many as 20 runners from the US, including Mind Your Biscuits and St Joe Bay, who are the leading fancies for the US$2million Dubai Golden Shaheen (sponsored by Gulf News) - the first live race of the NBCSN programme.
The broadcast will also take in the Dubai Turf (sponsored by DP World) and Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies and the Dubai World Cup trophy presentation.
"We are excited to bring to the US audience live coverage of the Dubai World Cup, which the millions of Americans who watch our Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup telecasts will be sure to enjoy," said Gary Quinn, Vice-President of Programming for NBC Sports and NBCSN
RMG's Director of Broadcast, Adam Binns, said: "We are excited to enter into a new partnership with NBC Sports Group to facilitate the broadcast of one of the stand-out horseracing events. The coverage should resonate with not just American racing enthusiasts, but also general sports fans, as Arrogate bids to become the 11th American-trained winner of the Dubai World Cup and emulate California Chrome's fairy-tale win from 12 months ago. It promises to be a wonderful day's racing"
The Dubai World Cup fixture is set against one of the most iconic sporting theatres, the state-of-the-art Meydan Racecourse. The architectural masterpiece measures 1.2km in length and can seat over 60,000 in its grandstand.
The RMG-produced Dubai World Cup fixture feed can be supplied as a full six-hour program or as a more bespoke package, depending on broadcasters' requirements.