Churchill Downs and NBC Sports are expected to announce Monday an agreement to broadcast six major prep races leading to the Kentucky Derby as part of a plan to attract casual fans as well as horse players. The move comes as NBC positions itself to win back the three legs of the Triple Crown in 2011. NBC had broadcast the Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes from 2001 to 2005. The network has kept the first two legs, but ESPN-ABC has shown the Belmont since 2006 and is in the last year of a five year-contract. The three one-hour broadcasts, two on NBC and one on USA Network, will include the Louisiana Derby, the Lane's End Stakes, the Santa Anita Derby, the Wood Memorial, the Blue Grass Stakes and the Arkansas Derby. Last year, Churchill Downs and NBC Sports used a big-event strategy in its marketing, and the 2009 race wound up being the most-viewed Derby in two decades with a 26 percent increase in viewers. As part of the strategy, NBC tried to appeal to women on its Bravo channel with race-related promos and a telecast of the Kentucky Oaks, the premier race for 3-year-old fillies, on the eve of the Derby. Each of the three one-hour 'Road to the Kentucky Derby' broadcasts will feature handicapping and lifestyle segments along with the races, a strategy designed to broaden the audience for these races and to drive viewership of the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown. 'This approach has been effective in bringing new fans to racing, and we hope to see similar success with the 'Road to the Kentucky Derby' series,' said Bob Evans, the president and chief executive of Churchill Downs Inc. 'The key difference is that we promote racing to both men and women by focusing on the fan's entire experience of racing, not just the race itself. This includes food, fashion and celebrity.' The series leading to the May 1 Derby will begin March 27 on USA Network with the Louisiana Derby from New Orleans, and will also include the Lane's End Stakes from Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. On April 3, the Santa Anita Derby from California will be shown along with the Wood Memorial from Aqueduct. An April 10 broadcast will be headlined by the Blue Grass Stakes from Lexington, Ky., and the Arkansas Derby from Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. Ken Schanzer, the president of NBC Sports, said, 'Adding the broadcasts of these important Derby prep races allows us to introduce key story lines that continue to build the broadest possible audience for the Kentucky Derby and the sport of thoroughbred racing.' 