What’s Worth Watching: Off to the Races
The 147th Belmont Stakes, Saturday, June 6, 4:30/3:30c, NBC
No matter how you spell it, American Pharoah sounds like the title of a miniseries I’d love to watch. And should the champion horse from this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness be the first to win the coveted Triple Crown since 1978, maybe they will make movies about him. There’s little doubt that even the most casual of racing fans will be tuning in to the Belmont Stakes this year to find out whether the long losing streak will be broken.
Hosts Bob Costas and Tom Hammond lead NBC Sports’ coverage, which includes an essay by Costas on just why the Triple Crown is so elusive, and Josh Elliott will provide a feature detailing American Pharoah’s journey to this historic race. For the first time at Belmont, NBC is using what it calls a “4K super-slow-motion, reverse finish-line camera” to capture the action. Which sounds cool, but it’s always the first run in real time that provides the true thrill.
