With the Kentucky Derby winner, Preakness winner, and preseason favorite all sitting out, The Belmont Stakes earned one of its lowest ratings in recent memory.
The race portion of The Belmont Stakes earned a 3.4 overnight rating on NBC Saturday evening, down 21% from last year (4.3) and down 26% from 2013 (4.6), the last two times there was no Triple Crown at stake. Derby winner Always Dreaming, Preakness winner Cloud Computing and preseason favorite Classic Empire did not participate.
Tapwrit‘s win, which peaked with a 4.2 from 6:30-6:45 PM ET, earned the lowest Belmont overnight since 2010 on ABC (3.1). That was also the last Belmont without the Derby or Preakness winners. No other Belmont Stakes since at least 2000 has posted a lower rating in the metered markets.
NBC’s Triple Crown season started on a strong note with the second-highest Kentucky Derby overnight in 25 years, but the good times quickly dissipated. The Preakness and Belmont delivered two of the network’s five lowest Triple Crown overnights (46 telecasts dating back to 2001).
Louisville led all markets with a 7.8 rating, actually up 5% from last year (7.4). Ft. Myers, last year’s top market, plummeted 39% from 11.4 to 7.0. Third-place Tulsa increased 7% to a 6.2 and fourth-place Orlando was flat at a 5.8. Norfolk, Va. rounded out the top five at a 5.5.
Host market New York City did not crack the top ten, tying for 13th with a 4.6 — down 28% from its fourth-place finish last year (6.4).
[Sat. numbers from NBC Sports]
