CBS Sports Network will present a 90-minute live telecast at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) of America’s Trotting Classic, the $1.2 million Hambletonian, from the Meadowlands Racetrack on Saturday, August 3.
The 88th Hambletonian, the second leg of Trotting’s Triple Crown, will feature a return to heat racing, last seen in 1996 when the brilliant filly Continentalvictory defeated male rivals in straight heats. The telecast undercard will include Hambletonian eliminations, the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks for three-year-old fillies and the $250,000 John Cashman Memorial for older trotters. The Hambletonian Final will go to post at 4:45 p.m. (EDT).
“The Hambletonian is the premier race in the sport of harness racing,” said Meadowlands Racetrack chairman Jeff Gural. “It deserves its place as a nationally televised event. The CBS Sports Network coverage of the 2012 Hambletonian was excellent and we look forward to the 2013 broadcast. We are very proud to be the host racetrack for this historic race and are very pleased to have the CBS Sports Network as partner in the event’s coverage.”
The award winning television team is lead by veteran executive producer Mike Trager, who’s overseen Hambletonian television for more than 25 years; producer Peter Lasser, at the helm the 2008 coverage for NBC; and Bruce Treut, in his second year of directing the race for CBS Sports Network.
Coverage of racing’s biggest day will be hosted by Gary Seibel with analyst Dave Brower, and Justin Horowitz reporting from the paddock and backstretch. Meadowlands announcer Ken Warkentin will provide his racing expertise and race call.
The 2013 Hambletonian broadcast is presented by the Hambletonian Society and the Meadowlands Racetrack with the support of the following participating television sponsors: breeding operations Brittany Farms, Fashion Farms, Joie De Vie Farm, White Birch Farm and Winning Key Farms; the Atlantic City Alliance and the U.S. Trotting Association, Standardbred Breeders & Owners of NJ, the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame; Clinton Tractor & Implement Company and Judge Audio Visual Solutions.
The Hambletonian was broadcast live on CBS from 1993-2006 and was moved to CBS Sports Network last year with an expanded format.
CBS Sports Network is the 24-hour home of CBS Sports and is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 613 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, and to access the CBS Sports Network channel finder, go to cbssportsnetwork.com.
(Meadowlands)