NBC tried to please "two major stakeholders -- the anxiety-ridden public and the sport it has beautifully covered for years" -- during its primetime coverage of the Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday night, but it "likely didn't satisfy either," according to Tom Hoffarth of the L.A. TIMES. NBCSN for two days had been "quite thorough in providing proper context and measured tones" in covering the 36 horse deaths since last December at Santa Anita, site of the Breeders' Cup. The reminders were "precise and frequent for viewers." However, during NBC's coverage of the Classic, "at least five minutes lapsed from the end of the race" before viewers were told by NBC' Ahmed Fareed that Mongolian Groom had been hurt. As winning horse Vino Rosso crossed the finish line, NBC "showed the traditional high grandstand camera shot," then "switched to a track-level, head-on shot of jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. celebrating." Hoffarth: "Clearly visible in the background was an equine ambulance arriving and attendants rushing across the dirt track." NBC then did its "customary post-race reaction interviews with Vino Rosso's owners celebrating in the stands and Ortiz on his mount," followed by the "injury acknowledgement." As the broadcast window was "rapidly closing, NBC had Fareed direct viewers to check nbcsports.com for further updates" on Mongolian Groom before the net "moved onto the Winner’s Circle for the awards presentation." In NBC's defense, it "could not have known that Breeders' Cup officials would go nearly two hours after its coverage ended to announce Mongolian Groom had been euthanized" (L.A. TIMES, 11/4).
