The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form
and the National Turf Writers Association Monday announced that ESPN has won the
Media Eclipse Award for National Television — Live Racing, for its telecast of
the 2009 Belmont S. (G1). The Belmont S. program, which was produced by Mike
McQuade, aired on ABC on June 6 from Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
The Live Television Media Eclipse for ESPN will be presented at the 39th
Annual Eclipse Awards, honoring Thoroughbred racing’s champions of 2009, on
January 18 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
“We are extremely proud to win this award,” said McQuade, who is senior
coordinating producer for ESPN. “No one works harder on this sport than we do.
It’s a true year-round commitment to horse racing by this group of individuals.
“For this year’s Belmont, we wanted to give the viewers knowledge of as many
individuals involved in the race as possible, not just the favorites, but all of
the connections, and provide them an overall context for the show.”
As a part of its presentation, ESPN focused on the improbable story of jockey
Calvin Borel, who was trying to become the first rider to sweep the three legs
of the Triple Crown with two different horses. Borel had captured the Kentucky
Derby on 50-1 longshot Mine That Bird (Birdstone), only to leave him for the
filly Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d’Oro) in the Preakness S. But three weeks
later, with Rachel Alexandra not entered, Borel was reunited with Mine That Bird
for the Belmont. ESPN interviewed Borel before the race from the jockeys’ room,
and again following Mine That Bird’s third-place finish, when ESPN raised the
question of whether Borel had moved prematurely to the lead.
ESPN also captured the emotional responses of winning trainer Tim Ice and
rider Kent Desormeaux, following Summer Bird’s (Birdstone) upset victory. For
Desormeaux, the triumph represented vindication after he had lost the 2008
Belmont S. and the Triple Crown aboard odds-on favorite Big Brown.
In addition, the ESPN production was boosted by technical enhancements,
including virtual pre-race graphics and analysis of the 1 1/2 miles of the
Belmont by Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey. ESPN also featured audio and camera
coverage of the starting gate as the horses were loading for the race.
The Belmont S. telecast was directed by Doug Holmes. Joe Tessitore hosted the
program. He was joined by analysts Randy Moss, Kenny Mayne and Bailey. Jeannine
Edwards and Jay Privman were the reporters, and Hank Goldberg was the
handicapper. The two-hour ABC telecast was preceded by five hours of coverage
from Belmont Park on ESPN.
Judges for the National Television — Live Racing category were: Rob Duboff
of Hawk Partners; Chris Svendsen of CBS Sports and Paul Lucey of Comcast
Sportsnet — New England.
Honorable mention in the National Television Live Programming also went to
ESPN for its production of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on November 7.
Tim Turrell and David Ceisler were the producers of the telecast.