Kenny Rice
Encyclopedia
Kenny Rice is an American Sportscaster known nationally for his horse racing reporting with NBC
and MMA
coverage for HDNet
.
. After graduating from the University of Kentucky
in 1980, he became the Sports Director for WTVQ TV in Lexington
.
" in the early days of ESPN
's Sports Center, Rice filed reports from 1982–1990 and was a correspondent for Down the Stretch (1982–1985) and Wire to Wire (1998–2005). Rice was host and reporter for horse racing including Breakfast at the Kentucky Derby and 2Day at the Races (1997–2006). He was an on-site co-host of college basketball's Midnight Madness
for the debut of ESPNU
(2005). He has also been a frequent contributor of Horse Racing coverage to the ESPN
web site.
, Preakness Stakes
and Breeders' Cup
('99-'05) and Belmont Stakes
. He's worked 2 Summer Olympics
; boxing reporter (2004) and host of Equestrian
Competition(2008). In addition, Rice covered the U.S. Olympic Trials in both Triathlon
(Host) and Equestrian
(Reporter) and has reported on the NFL for NBC
's Football Night in America
. He did play by play of Track and Field
, Rugby
, and Basketball
at the 2008 Paralympic Games
for NBC
's Universal Sports
with his track calls used in an NBC
documentary of the games. He called the Pro Bull Riders
World Finals ('05, '07). Since 2008 he has been the host of the Hambletonian Harness race.
's HDNet
since 2003 and hosts the popular Inside MMA
with legendary champion Bas Rutten
(they also announced for the short-lived IFL
on Fox Sports Net
). Rice called play by play of the inaugural United Football League 2009 season with Paul Maguire
. His college football play by play includes the game, Harvard VS. Yale
and the Monon Bell Game between Wabash College and DePauw, as well as college basketball calls of the John R. Wooden Classic
, Legends Classic
and College Basketball Invitational
. Rice worked with Rex Chapman
calling PAC 10, Missouri Valley Conference
, Horizon League
and West Coast Conference
basketball games from 2003-2005. He has also done boxing
and MMA
play by play and hosted horse racing coverage including the Santa Anita Derby
.
.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and MMA
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
coverage for HDNet
HDNet
HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...
.
Biography
Kenny Rice was born July 28, 1956 in McDowell, KY. He grew up in the town of Eastern, and began his career as a disc jockey while in high school for WDOCWDOC
WDOC is a radio station broadcasting a Southern Gospel format. Licensed to Prestonsburg, Kentucky, USA. The station is currently owned by Wdoc, Inc. and features programing from Premiere Radio Networks and Salem Communications....
. After graduating from the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
in 1980, he became the Sports Director for WTVQ TV in Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
.
ESPN
A national "stringerStringer (journalism)
In journalism, a stringer is a type of freelance journalist or photographer who contributes reports or photos to a news organization on an ongoing basis but is paid individually for each piece of published or broadcast work....
" in the early days of ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's Sports Center, Rice filed reports from 1982–1990 and was a correspondent for Down the Stretch (1982–1985) and Wire to Wire (1998–2005). Rice was host and reporter for horse racing including Breakfast at the Kentucky Derby and 2Day at the Races (1997–2006). He was an on-site co-host of college basketball's Midnight Madness
Midnight Madness (basketball)
Midnight Madness is an annual event on college campuses that celebrates the first day in mid-October that the National Collegiate Athletic Association permits formal basketball practices each college basketball season. In some cases, the name has literal meaning since an event is scheduled...
for the debut of ESPNU
ESPNU
ESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced by, affiliated with and owned by parent network ESPN. ESPNU originates out of ESPN Regional Television's ESPNU (often referred to as The U) is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced...
(2005). He has also been a frequent contributor of Horse Racing coverage to the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
web site.
NBC
Since 1999, Rice has covered horse racing, reporting on the Kentucky DerbyKentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
, Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
and Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
('99-'05) and Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
. He's worked 2 Summer Olympics
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
; boxing reporter (2004) and host of Equestrian
Equestrian at the Summer Olympics
Equestrianism made its Summer Olympics debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. It disappeared until 1912, but has appeared at every Summer Olympic Games since. The current Olympic equestrian disciplines are Dressage, Eventing, and Jumping...
Competition(2008). In addition, Rice covered the U.S. Olympic Trials in both Triathlon
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
(Host) and Equestrian
Equestrian at the Summer Olympics
Equestrianism made its Summer Olympics debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. It disappeared until 1912, but has appeared at every Summer Olympic Games since. The current Olympic equestrian disciplines are Dressage, Eventing, and Jumping...
(Reporter) and has reported on the NFL for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Football Night in America
Football Night in America
Football Night in America is the studio pregame show usually preceding NBC's broadcasts of Sunday night and Wild Card Saturday National Football League games starting in the 2006 National Football League season...
. He did play by play of Track and Field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, Rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, and Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
at the 2008 Paralympic Games
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...
for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Universal Sports
Universal Sports
Universal Sports is an American television network that airs various sports, primarily those contested in the Olympic Games, including swimming, gymnastics, cycling, track and field, figure skating, skiing, bobsledding and triathlon.-Programming:...
with his track calls used in an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
documentary of the games. He called the Pro Bull Riders
Professional Bull Riders, Inc.
Professional Bull Riders, Inc. is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. PBR events are televised on Versus, Fox, CBS and NBC...
World Finals ('05, '07). Since 2008 he has been the host of the Hambletonian Harness race.
HDNet
Rice has worked for Mark CubanMark Cuban
Mark Cuban is an American business magnate and investor. He is the owner of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres, and Magnolia Pictures, and the chairman of the HDTV cable network HDNet....
's HDNet
HDNet
HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...
since 2003 and hosts the popular Inside MMA
Inside MMA
Inside MMA is an hour-long program on Mark Cuban's HDNet television network hosted by Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice. The hosts, along with a revolving panel of three guests, provide commentary on mixed martial arts events around the globe...
with legendary champion Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
(they also announced for the short-lived IFL
International Fight League
The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006 and closed on July 31, 2008...
on Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
). Rice called play by play of the inaugural United Football League 2009 season with Paul Maguire
Paul Maguire
Paul Leo Maguire is a former American football player and current television sportscaster.-Early sports career:Maguire attended Ursuline High School in Youngstown,Ohio and was recruited to play at The Citadel by the late Al Davis who was then an assistant coach and chief recruiter...
. His college football play by play includes the game, Harvard VS. Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
and the Monon Bell Game between Wabash College and DePauw, as well as college basketball calls of the John R. Wooden Classic
John R. Wooden Classic
The John R. Wooden Classic is an annual season-opening men's college basketball competition. Four teams compete in one round of play. The Classic is not considered a tournament since it does not include a championship or consolation game.-History:...
, Legends Classic
Legends Classic
The NBA All-Star Legends Game was an NBA Legends game from 1984 to 1993 that featured retired players. It was held during the NBA All-Star Weekend and consisted of two teams, East and West...
and College Basketball Invitational
College Basketball Invitational
The College Basketball Invitational is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI selects 16 teams that are not selected for the NCAA Tournament...
. Rice worked with Rex Chapman
Rex Chapman
Rex Everett Chapman is a retired American professional basketball player. Chapman was a college standout at the University of Kentucky and went on to play for four NBA teams through his 12-year career in the league...
calling PAC 10, Missouri Valley Conference
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States...
, Horizon League
Horizon League
The Horizon League is a ten school, NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located in five of the Midwestern United States....
and West Coast Conference
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference is an NCAA collegiate athletics conference consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington....
basketball games from 2003-2005. He has also done boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and MMA
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
play by play and hosted horse racing coverage including the Santa Anita Derby
Santa Anita Derby
The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...
.
Other
Since 2008 Rice has hosted what is considered by thoroughbred racing enthusiasts racing's biggest night, The Eclipse AwardsEclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
.
Awards
- 2007-Honored upon a visit to the Kentucky Senate
- 1996-Eclipse Award for Outstanding Local Television Achievement.
- 1996- Youngest recipient of the Charles W. Engelhard award for Lifetime Contribution to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Industry.
- 1984-Won the First Hervey Award given for Outstanding TV Reporting of Harness Racing.