Belmont Stakes viewership almost triples with Triple Crown on the line

Although the Preakness ratings on Saturday didn’t set the world alight, drawing a 5.8 rating (down 8% from 2014), the race still led to NBC Sports execs popping champagne bottles.  The celebrations are due to American Pharoah winning the first two legs of the Triple Crown and making the Belmont Stakes one of the must-see sporting events in 2015.

Perhaps no single event in sports has the viewership swings that the Belmont Stakes does depending on whether or not the Triple Crown is on the line.  Since the last Triple Crown winner in 1978, thirteen horses have failed to win the third leg after successfully completing the first two.  That streak has led to increased interest on whether any horse could finally break the nearly 40 year old drought.

Without those Triple Crown stakes, the Belmont is an afterthought on the sports calendar.  But with the Triple Crown on the line, the Belmont is watched by an audience that is on par with the NBA Finals.

Since 2000, here is the breakdown of viewership numbers for the Belmont Stakes:

No Triple Crown on the line: 6.15 million viewers (10 races)
Triple Crown on the line: 16.74 million viewers (5 races)

Those numbers tell quite the extraordinary story.  Belmont ratings this century have increased 172% with the Triple Crown at stake.  Viewership has almost tripled.

Furthermore, since the turn of the century, the increase in interest in Triple Crown hopefuls has also gone up immensely.  From 1997-1999, three straight horses were attempting to win the Triple Crown at the Belmont.  Those three races only averaged 8.87 million viewers.  Over the last five attempts since 2000, viewership has doubled with the Triple Crown at stake.

Last year’s Belmont featuring the Triple Crown bid of California Chrome registered 20.9 million viewers, second only to the 2004 bid of Smarty Jones for the all-time record.  Given American Pharoah’s dominance in the Preakness on Saturday, the anticipation for the Belmont will be at a fever pitch.  And you can guarantee that it will be one of the most watched sporting events of 2015.