The second leg of the Triple Crown scored an increase in overnight ratings.
The race portion of the 2014 Preakness Stakes earned a 6.3 overnight rating on NBC Saturday evening, up 5% from last year (6.0), up 15% from 2012 (5.5), and the highest since 2010 (6.4).
Despite the four-year high, this year’s race also ranks as the fifth-lowest rated in the metered markets since NBC began airing coverage in 2001 (14 telecasts).
Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome won Saturday’s race, setting up the possibility of the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978. The last time the Kentucky Derby winner won the Preakness — I’ll Have Another in 2012 — the race a mere 5.5 overnight, the lowest ever on NBC. When Big Brown accomplished the feat in 2008, the Preakness earned a 6.2 overnight.
Baltimore led the metered markets for Saturday’s race with a 17.2 rating, up 10% from last year (15.7). Louisville ranked second with a 16.6, up 11% from last year (15.0). Rounding out the top five were Ft. Myers, FL (11.3), Cincinnati (11.2) and Buffalo (10.5).
(Sat. numbers from NBC Sports)
