One of the thinnest fields in recent memory resulted in poor numbers for The Belmont Stakes.
The race portion of The Belmont Stakes earned a 3.2 rating and 4.9 million viewers on NBC Saturday, down 14% in ratings and 16% in viewership from last year (3.7, 5.8M) and down 29% and 30% respectively from 2013 (4.5, 7.0M), the last two times there was no Triple Crown at stake.
Taprwit‘s win was the lowest rated and least-watched Belmont since 2010 on ABC (3.0, 4.7M). Both this year and in 2010, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners missed the race. Going back further, it was the third-least watched Belmont since 2000 and tied as the second-lowest rated.
It was also the lowest rated and least-watched Triple Crown telecast ever on NBC (46 telecasts dating back to 2001). Two of the network’s five lowest rated races came this year, with the Preakness ranking fifth (4.6).
The low numbers for the Belmont come on the heels of the lowest rated and least-watched Preakness Stakes since 2000. Both of those historically low performances were a sharp break from the Kentucky Derby, which delivered its second-largest audience since 1989.
| LOWEST RATED/LEAST WATCHED TRIPLE CROWN RACES ON NBC (2001-present; 2006-10 Belmont aired on ABC) |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest Rated | Least-Watched | ||||||
| # | Year | Race | Rtg. | # | Year | Race | Vwrs. |
| 1 | 2017 | Belmont | 3.2 | 1 | 2017 | Belmont | 4.9M |
| 2 | 2016 | Belmont | 3.7 | 2 | 2016 | Belmont | 5.8M |
| 3 | 2011 | Belmont | 4.3 | T3 | 2011 | Belmont | 6.8M |
| 4 | 2013 | Belmont | 4.5 | T3 | 2001 | Belmont | 6.8M |
| 5 | 2017 | Preakness | 4.6 | 5 | 2013 | Belmont | 7.0M |
[Numbers from NBC Sports, ShowBuzz Daily 6.13]
