Four mid-Atlantic cities, headed by Baltimore, were among the 20 cities in which last Saturday’s Preakness had the highest television ratings, according to the Nielsen Company.
Overall, the race portion of the telecast had a household rating of 6.0. It was the highest-rated Preakness broadcast since 2009, when Rachel Alexandra defeated Derby champion Mine That Bird to take the middle jewel with TV audience rating of 6.8. An estimated 9.6 million viewers watched the race.
Baltimore had the highest viewership in the nation. The race’s host city registered a rating of 17.2 (percentage of all households watching the race) with a share of 39 (percentage of households watching television at the time of the broadcast tuned to the race). That enabled Baltimore to edge Louisville for the top slot.
Three other mid-Atlantic cities were among the top 20. Richmond ranked ninth, with a rating of 8.9 and a 19 share. Washington, DC tied for eleventh (8.2/20), and Philadlephia was 19th (7.6/18).
Baltimore, predictably, was one of the few US cities to see higher viewership for the Preakness than for the Kentucky Derby. The Derby did a 12.9/27 in Baltimore.
