FOX Sports, NYRA Hit Their Belmont Groove in Second Year Abroad at Saratoga Race Course

FOX Sports, NYRA Hit Their Belmont Groove in Second Year Abroad at Saratoga Race Course FOX is in Saratoga for Saturdays big race as well as coverage throughout the week By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.

Friday, June 6, 2025 - 11:40 am

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For the second straight year, FOX Sports is on hand at Saratoga Race Course for the third leg of horse racing's Triple Crown while Belmont Park undergoes renovation. Since FOX began covering the Belmont Stakes in 2023 under an eight-year rights deal, the network has brought its signature flair to the production. That innovation continues this weekend, when FOX will team up with NYRA (New York Racing Association) to deploy 40-plus cameras including a live drone and two JITAcam point-to-point camera systems.

FOX Sports is on-site at Saratoga for the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. (Photos Courtesy FOX Sports)

We had a great first year in Saratoga which is just brimming with racing history, says Brad Cheney, FOX Sports, VP, Field Operations and Engineering. This production is amplified for all the productions teams as the NYRA team is coming up to produce just for this event so we've added some experts and vendors to help boost all productions. We've had a solid re-planning effort coming back into Saratoga this year, its great being back in a location for a second time.

Plenty of FOX Spirit - and Production Tech - in Saratoga A crew of more than 250 are on hand in Saratoga covering five days of racing this week, headlined by Belmont Day on FOX (4 p.m.) and Belmont Stakes (6:30 p.m.) broadcasts on Saturday. In addition, for the third straight year, FOX and NYRA will team up to produce Americas' Day at the Belmont Stakes - an alternate telecast on FS1 aimed at the experienced horseplayer.

We'll have more racing insight into all the races throughout the day leveraging the technology the Belmont Stakes is going to provide both before and after the race, Cheney says of the altcast production. We've worked with NYRA to enhance the RF coverage as well around the track and they've increased the number of cameras as well.

Among the arsenal of production tools at the Belmont Stakes, FOX Sports has scattered more than 40 cameras across the track, including 12 super slow-mos.

More than 40 cameras have been deployed across the FOX side of the coverage, including a drone, helicopter, two JITAcam point-to-point cameras systems, 12 Super-slo-mo's, eight wireless RF systems and four cameras running on a private 5G network provided by CP Communications.

FOX is continuing to enhance its audio deployment across all three tracks being covered throughout the week.

Each year we find new mics to place around the track, says Cheney. And we have a great working relationship with NYRA and racing stewards to find new ways to capture the most exiting two minutes in sports.

On the Set and in the Compound in Saratoga FOX has rolled out four set locations - two trackside positions along the front stretch and two paddock set locations - throughout the track in Saratoga. These will serve both America's Day at the Belmont altcast on FS1 and the main Belmont Stakes broadcast on FOX, as well as all pre- and post-race coverage on both networks.

Pre-race coverage will be anchored by host Curt Menefee, alongside Grade 1-winning trainer Tom Amoss and retired jockey Richard Migliore. From the paddock, Charissa Thompson teams with 'wagering analyst Chris The Bear Fallica and handicapper Jonathon Kinchen to deliver real-time betting analysis. Tom Rinaldi returns to spotlight compelling storylines, while racing analyst Maggie Wolfendale provides in-depth coverage on horseback and trackside throughout the day's undercard races. Frank Mirahmadi, one of racing's most recognized voices, will call the racing action while FOX NFL Sunday analyst Terry Bradshaw will make special appearances.

In the compound, Game Creek Video's Prime One mobile units are home to FOX's production while NYRA is utilizing its own Evolution truck. In terms of transmission, Lumen, PSSI, Rogers Communications and LTN are all providing connectivity for FOX and NYRA. In addition to Game Creek Video, CP Communications, All Mobile Video, PSSI / Strategic TV, Filmwerks Power, Pure Polish Fiber, and NEP Specialty Capture are all playing major roles in this year's operation.

The FOX Sports Ops and Technology team is led by Dave Jones, Sarita Meinking, and Rob Mikulicka and supported by Doug Fuchs, David Zulauf, Mike Vaughan, Brian Obert, Bill Moore, Casey McKee, Stephen Reboot, Tara Schumal and Wade Marshall. FOX Sports is working with NYRA's team led by Eric Donovan, Frank Langton, Dan Glovach, Dennis Cooper, Veronica Venturi, John Getzler, Malcolm Braxton, David York and Wayne Clark.

A Year-Round Partnership: FOX Sports, NYRA Deepen Ties Cheney describes FOX Sports' relationship with NYRA as a year-round partnership that includes working together on a weekly basis to help advance technology, operations, and production of their non-stop coverage of the New York racing circuit.

In advance of last year's first Belmont in Saratoga, NYRA made a series of large investments in its production complement, including a new mobile unit and all new cameras across the board. These tools will see their second Belmont Stakes this weekend and NYRAS continues to add new technology to their racing coverage each month.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/06/06/fox-sports-nyra-hit-their-belmo...
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