NBC on Saturday drew a 3.4 overnight rating for the race segment of the Belmont Stakes from 6:15-7:00pm ET, marking the event's lowest figure since ABC drew a 3.1 in '10. There were two Triple Crown-contending horses in that time span -- American Pharoah in '15 and California Chrome in '14. Saturday's race -- won by Tapwrit -- did not include this year's Kentucky Derby winner (Always Dreaming), Preakness winner (Cloud Computing) or the pre-Belmont Stakes favorite (Classic Empire). This year's race also is down 21% from a 4.3 overnight last year and a 4.6 in '13 (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
A HO-HUM DAY AT THE RACES: DAILY RACING FORM's Matt Hegarty reported all-sources betting on the Belmont was down 9.2% compared to last year's event, as the handle "suffered from a lackluster field that did not include" either the Kentucky Derby or Preakness winners. Total handle on the 11-horse race was $47.5M, down from $52.2M on a 13-horse field last year. The handle for the 13-race card was $93.6M, down 6.3% versus last year. This was the "second straight year that a Triple Crown was not on the line at Belmont." Attendance "on a sunny day was 57,729," down from 60,114 in '16 (DRF.com, 6/10). Saturday's attendance was "up more than 10,000" from '13 --the last time prior to '16 a Triple Crown was not at stake -- when 47,562 turned out (BLOODHORSE.com, 6/10).
