As is usually the case, The Belmont Stakes suffered without the possibility of a Triple Crown winner.
The race portion of The Belmont Stakes drew a 4.6 overnight rating on NBC Saturday evening, down 15% from last year (5.4), and down 4% from 2011 (4.8).
The 4.6 overnight is the lowest for The Belmont Stakes since the 2010 race on ABC (3.1), and is the lowest overnight for any Triple Crown race on NBC since the network acquired rights in 2001.
Keep in mind that last year’s 5.4 overnight was inflated by weeks of hype surrounding I’ll Have Another. The horse had won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, but was scratched from The Belmont Stakes the day before the race.
The decline for The Belmont Stakes came on the heels of increases for both the Preakness (6.0, +9%) and Kentucky Derby (10.4, +16%).
(Saturday’s overnight from Sports Business Daily)
