NBC Sports Radio will broadcast all three Triple Crown horse races for the first time this year. The network already airs the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes on television, but had previously not covered them on radio. NBC Sports Radio launched in September '12, is produced and distributed by Westwood One, and is carried by more than 425 affiliates nationwide. Horse Racing Radio Network previously broadcast the three Triple Crown races. NBC Sports Radio will air the races this year in partnership with HRRN, said NBC Sports Ventures Senior VP Rob Simmelkjaer. “They have been on radio,” Simmelkjaer said. “I don’t think the distribution has been as broad as we hope it will be with NBC Sports Radio. Given the great and long history that NBC has had -- particularly with the Derby, but also with the Preakness and with the Belmont Stakes -- NBC and these races are pretty synonymous in a lot of people’s minds. So I think having the races on radio under the NBC brand will increase the exposure of the radio broadcast. ... And I think it will strengthen racing as an audio product.” NBC Sports Radio will air three two-hour broadcasts from 5:00-7:00pm ET, with about 90 minutes devoted to pre-race coverage and a half-hour of post-race coverage. NBC Sports Group will announce the talent for the radio race coverage at a later date. Westwood One will be in the market, selling a presenting sponsor for the radio race coverage, Simmelkjaer said.
