Triple Crown win draws big TV rating, but not biggest

American Pharoah’s historic Triple Crown win drew the third-best television rating for the Belmont Stakes since that started being measured in 1988. The race portion of NBC’s broadcast Saturday ran from 3:15-4:15 p.m. PDT, so only the final third came after American Pharoah became the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. The 18.6 million viewers were down from the 20.5 million for California Chrome’s failed Triple Crown attempt last year. Ratings for the Belmont tend to be driven by the appeal of a horse’s back story that lures viewers in from the start.

Associated Press