Unlike several of his recent films, which were shot mostly digitally, director Michael Mann decided to shoot most of this pilot on film, as he thought it would better capture skies, clouds, and exteriors in bright sunlight. Digital cameras were used for racing scenes. The rest of the series was shot mostly digitally, with film used for high-speed shots over 60 frames per second.
A horse was injured during filming and later euthanized. In the credits, the American Humane Association certification "No Animals Were Harmed" does not appear. Instead it says, "The American Humane Society Monitored the animal action."