Who Watched the Breeders Cup?

By Noah Davis 

Apparently, a lot of people. According to Sports Media Watch, ABC and ESPN saw massive spikes from last year, with their telecasts up 70 percent and well over 100 percent, respectively.

They have Zenyatta to thank. The horse came into the race undefeated in 18 previous outings and was the recipient of massive hype. As a result, “ESPN earned a 3.1 overnight rating for coverage of The Breeders Cup Classic Saturday evening (6:15-7:15 PM ET), up a whopping 182% from last year (1.1).”

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The event actually lived up to the hype, with Zenyatta’s last-ditch effort coming up dramatically short. But don’t worry; she’s still welcome to tour the Guinness factory.

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