Phil Murphy or Phil D’Amato … forgive Steve Kornacki if he has a little trouble this week separating the governor of New Jersey from the thoroughbred trainer.
A national political correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, Kornacki spent most of the past month at his day (and often later) job in his office, going over data for this week’s elections in New Jersey and Virginia. Then he would go home and dive into the past performances for this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar.
It all led to what could be called an unprecedented week for Kornacki, and probably for anyone else.
A year ago, the idea of Kornacki being part of NBC’s coverage this weekend from Del Mar — four hours of racing Friday and 6½ hours Saturday — seemed about as likely as a presidential candidate not conceding defeat.
But Kornacki became a breakout star with his work on the 2020 election (which happened to finally be called by the networks about the time last year’s Breeders’ Cup was beginning) and NBC began looking for ways it could take advantage of his celebrity, not to mention his insight.
Originally he was asked to contribute to “Sunday Night Football,” where he did playoff calculations on his famous “big board,” but then the network asked if he’d be interested in doing other sports.
“Oh, geez, would I,” was the response.
First up was the Kentucky Derby, an event he’d always watched but never attended and where he was the lone network expert to pick the winner (Medina Spirit at 12-1). The rest of the Triple Crown followed, and now the lifelong racing fan is making his Del Mar debut.
The only danger came this week when the New Jersey election wasn’t decided right away and Kornacki was afraid he might be held “hostage” at 30 Rock and unable to fly west for his first Breeders’ Cup.
“It’s been on my list for a long time,” he said by phone Wednesday during a break from his election duties.
Like many racing fans, the 42-year-old Kornacki said a family member introduced him to the game while he was growing up in Groton, Mass. He said he liked the idea of trying to solve a puzzle and had some “beginner’s luck.”
“When you’re a kid and get handed 30 bucks, that’s the coolest thing,” he said.
Big scores these days hopefully bring more than $30, but to Kornacki, it’s not just about the money.
“I love the feeling when you do hit one, it’s like you figured out something about the universe,” he said.
NBC will have no shortage of announcers on its telecasts this weekend, with Ahmed Fareed becoming the first person to host all 14 Breeders’ Cup races. Analysts Randy Moss and Jerry Bailey will be at the main desk with Fareed, and Ed Olcyzk and Matt Bernier are the handicappers.
Kornacki is billed as an “insights analyst.” He said he won’t be offering picks on every race, but will be looking for trends and anything else that can help viewers find a winner. (On NBCSN’s preview show Thursday he said his value play of the weekend is Haughty at 10-1 in the Juvenile Fillies Turf and his “bomber” for the weekend is Lexitonian at 20-1 in the Sprint. It should be noted he said he did make more than a few dollars in the Sprint last year with Whitmore at 18-1.)
What does he bring to the telecast?
“Energy squared,” Moss said this week. “And a lot of street cred. He’s been a fantastic addition.”
And when Moss says Kornacki is “like a kid in a candy store, having a ball,” he’s not exaggerating.
“One hundred percent,” Kornacki said when told what Moss said. If this had been any weekend before this year, Kornacki would have been watching on TV anyway.
“Now here I am seeing it put together, with all these guys I’ve seen forever. It’s so cool.”
Classic is highlight
One of those guys is Moss, who was a sports writer for nearly two decades in Little Rock and Dallas-Fort Worth, a span interrupted for a couple years when he worked in management at Oaklawn Park. But ESPN offered him a full-time job in 1999 and he’s been a TV guy ever since, switching over to NBC in 2011. He also worked for NFL Network as a reporter for the past 13 seasons.
Asked about the top storylines for NBC this weekend, he said it’s no different than most years: the Classic.
“This is such a compelling race on so many different levels,” he said.
In his mind Knicks Go is a clear and deserving favorite, but he’s going against “an unusually deep group of 3-year-olds” headed by his stablemate, Belmont winner Essential Quality, along with Kentucky Derby winner (for now) Medina Spirit and Hot Rod Charlie.
One reason this race is compelling is the number of horses who like to run on the lead. and Knicks Go’s “hellbent for leather style”
Medina Spirit’s last four wins and Art Collector’s last three all came in gate-to-wire fashion, and Hot Rod Charlie never trailed in his win in the Pennsylvania Derby (and set the pace in the Belmont when he finished second).
But there is speed and then there is Knicks Go speed. As Moss noted, “There are a lot of good quarterbacks in the NFL and then there is Tom Brady. He’s the fastest of the fast horses.”
Since Brad Cox began training him nearly two years ago, Knicks Go has started nine times, gone to the lead every time and won seven. The one question is whether he can go the 1¼ miles of the Classic, something he’s never tried, but Moss said he’s shown no signs of weakening at 11/8 miles, actually kicking away from his competition in three recent races at that distance.
Among the other stories to follow is Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. As Moss said, “We’ll definitely address the 300-pound gorilla in the room with Baffert and his 2021 travails. We won’t overdo it but it’s a storyline we can’t ignore.”
