MIKE TIRICO TO MAKE HORSE RACING DEBUT AS HOST OF NBC'S PRIMETIME COVERAGE OF THE 2016 BREEDERS' CUP

STAMFORD, Conn. - October 24, 2016 - NBC Sports Group's Mike Tirico will host NBC's primetime coverage of the 2016 Breeders' Cup World Championships from Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 5, marking his first career horse racing assignment.

"What a great event and venue for my maiden voyage with our incredibly talented horse racing team," Tirico said. "I look forward to working with them at one of the premiere events on the thoroughbred calendar. I've always enjoyed watching the Breeders' Cup cap the year and set the storylines for the following spring. Now I can't wait to experience that in person for the first time."

2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness stakes winner California Chrome, who has six victories in six starts this year and has won more prize money than any North American horse ($13.4 million in career earnings), leads a star-studded field for the running of the 33rd Breeders' Cup Classic live on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Since joining NBC Sports Group in July, Tirico has served as a host of the 2016 Rio Olympics, Football Night in America, The Open, and The Ryder Cup, and handled play-by-play for Notre Dame Football.

NBC SPORTS GROUP AND HORSE RACING: NBC Sports Group is the exclusive home to the most important and prestigious events in horse racing, including the Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup. In 2017, NBC Sports Group will televise for the first time the world's richest race (the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational) on Jan. 28, and the prestigious Royal Ascot meet in June. NBC has been the exclusive home of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes since 2001, and the Belmont Stakes since 2011, when NBC Sports Group reassembled the Triple Crown.