Initial leg of polo’s triple crown is the first of three major United States Polo Association tournament finals to be televised by NBC this year
The final of the C.V. Whitney Cup will be televised on Sunday, March 23rd, from 4-5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on NBC Sports Network, NBC’s 24 hour cable and satellite sports channel. The telecast is the most advanced television coverage of polo undertaken to date, and includes use of an aerial drone mounted camera to follow the action on the vast polo field – the largest in team sports. The telecast will also include a number of special features in addition to the match play, including a tribute to polo great Carlos Gracida, profiles of Polo Hall of Fame inductees Adam Snow (who is also NBC Sports Network’s color commentator for the match) and the legendary polo pony Fuss Budget and brief tutorials on the official rules and regulations of polo. Click to view a promotional trailer for the telecast.
The C.V. Whitney Cup is an elite polo tournament first held in 1979. It was named in memory of Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny” Whitney who, along with his cousin John Hay Whitney, is among the most important figures in the history of American polo. The son of Hall of Famer Harry Payne Whitney, C.V. won the US Open three times (twice against his brother) and was a renowned owner and breeder of thoroughbred horses. CV Whitney’s niece, Whitney Miller Douglass, presents this year’s cup to the victors at the end of the telecast.
Recent Polo Hall of Fame inductees will also be featured on the telecast. Legendary polo player Adam Snow started playing polo at age 10 and became part of the elite group of 10 goal players at age 38, the same year he won the first U.S. Open Championship where he was named MVP. Twice named Player of the Year in 1998 and 2002, the ever-understated Adam has said that he credits his success to perseverance and hard work.
Fuss Budget will be inducted in the Hall of Fame posthumously. Fuss Budget was purchased by C. V. “Sonny” Whitney, who played her in the U.S. Open during her very first year of play. Her impressive accomplishments and the accolades she garnered earned her the right to be called during her era “the First Lady of the polo realm.”
The telecast will also feature brief profiles of others in the polo community and why they love the sport of polo, including USPA Board of Directors’ President, Joe Meyer, and players’ Kylie Sheehan and Boone Stribling, Jr. from Team USPA , the young professionals who are American polo’s next generation.
The C.V. Whitney tournament is the first leg of the United States’ polo Triple Crown, with the Piaget USPA Gold Cup® and the U.S. Open Polo Championship® remaining. The 26-goal Piaget USPA Gold Cup tournament begins this Friday, March 7, at 3 P.M. The next telecast of polo will be of the 110th Maserati US Open Polo Championship finals, which will be carried over the main NBC Sports broadcast network in June.