“They put you in the best seat in the house,” said Drew Esocoff, who has directed NBC’s Triple Crown telecasts since 2011. “These cameras, whether they’re high-def or 4K, also allow for better manipulation of video: zooming in, zooming out without major degradation of the video quality. It just makes the viewing experience better and you’re also looking at it on high-def monitors. Compared to what you saw 25, 30 years ago, it’s night and day.”
As California Chrome heads into the Belmont Stakes on June 7, with victories in the Derby and the Preakness, and the chance to win the first Triple Crown in 36 years, the network will be a winner no matter the outcome.
NBC’s 2 1/2 hours of planned coverage Saturday afternoon of the Belmont Stakes was supposed to center on I’ll Have Another, the 3-year-old colt who has captivated the sports world (and beyond) trying for horse racing’s first Triple Crown in 34 years. But the horse was pulled from the race today after suffering a tendon injury during training, turning the Belmont into pretty much just another race.
