by Jeff Lowe  

NBC’s rating for the Preakness Stakes (G1) on May 17 dropped 4.1% to a 4.7, the lowest since the network began airing the race in 2001.

The decline came two weeks after NBC saw a slight ratings dip for its coverage of Big Brown’s victory in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), which was marred by the breakdown of Eight Belles.

The Preakness drew a 4.9 rating last year. This year’s program aired from 5 p.m. EDT to 6:45 p.m. 

The 67-minute race segment attracted 7.9-million viewers and a 5.5 rating, down from 8.4-million viewers and a 5.7 rating for the race portion last year.

Coverage of Big Brown’s Triple Crown bid will shift to ABC for the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 7. The Triple Crown will be on the line for the first time since ABC began airing the Belmont in 2006, two years after Smarty Jones’s failed attempt drew an 11.3 rating on NBC.

The Belmont plummeted to a 2.9 rating last year, when Rags to Riches became the classic’s first female winner since 1905.

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer