According to data provided by The Nielsen Company, NBC Sports’ June 11 telecast of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) from Belmont Park was watched by 6.8 million viewers, who saw 24-1 longshot Ruler On Ice splash through the mud to win the third jewel of Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown.
With no possibility of a Triple Crown winner in 2011 after Animal Kingdom won the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and Shackleford took the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), the Belmont viewership numbers were substantially lower than the 14.5 million viewers who watched this year’s Derby and the 8.8 million who saw the Preakness on NBC, which telecast all three legs of the Triple Crown for the first time since 2005.
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