Saturday’s Live Coverage to Feature Nine Races; NBC Sports to Present 15 Total Races Across Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Day
Live Coverage from Churchill Downs Begins with 5 Hours of Kentucky Oaks Day Races on Friday, May 3, at 1 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock
Derby Day Coverage Starts with Live Racing on Saturday, May 4, at Noon ET on USA Network and Peacock
All Coverage Streaming Live on Peacock
STAMFORD, Conn. – April 29, 2024 – NBC Sports presents coverage of the milestone 150th Kentucky Derby on NBC and Peacock this Saturday, May 4, at 2:30 p.m. ET live from iconic Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
NBC Sports’ Derby day coverage features nine races across NBC and Peacock on Saturday. Live coverage from Churchill Downs begins with five hours of Kentucky Oaks day racing this Friday, May 3, beginning at 1 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock. Over the two days, NBC Sports will present 15 live races from Churchill Downs.
Telemundo Deportes will present coverage of the Kentucky Derby, beginning Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET on Universo, and streaming on TelemundoDeportes.com and the Telemundo app.
The 150th Kentucky Derby features morning-line favorite Fierceness (5-2), who won the 2024 Florida Derby (G1) and the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). Other contenders include 2024 Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner Sierra Leone (3-1), this year’s UAE Derby (G2) winner Forever Young (10-1), 2024 Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Catching Freedom (8-1), and 2024 Blue Grass Stakes (G1) runner-up Just a Touch (10-1).
COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports’ coverage of the Kentucky Derby features host Mike Tirico, anchoring Derby coverage for the eighth time; analysts Jerry Bailey, the Hall of Fame jockey and two-time Kentucky Derby winner, and Randy Moss, who is covering the Derby for the 44th time; handicappers Eddie Olczyk and Matt Bernier; host Ahmed Fareed; reporters Britney Eurton, Donna Brothers, Kenny Rice, and Nick Luck; and race caller Larry Collmus. Rebecca Lowe also returns to NBC Sports’ coverage and will examine the history and pageantry surrounding the “Run for the Roses.”
Steve Kornacki, NBC News’ celebrated national political correspondent, returns to NBC Sports’ Kentucky Derby coverage as an insights analyst for the fourth year. NBC News’ Dylan Dreyer, who has previously been part of NBC Sports’ Kentucky Derby and Royal Ascot horse racing coverage, and E! News correspondent Zanna Roberts Rassi, who is returning to Derby coverage, will serve as fashion and lifestyle correspondents. NBC Sports’ Tim Layden will write and narrate an essay on his perspective of the 150th “Run for the Roses”.
The senior producer of NBC Sports’ Kentucky Derby coverage is Lindsay Schanzer. The Kentucky Derby is directed by Kaare Numme. Saturday’s early race coverage is produced by Billy Matthews and directed by Timothy Nelson. Executive producer and president, NBC Sports Production is Sam Flood.
Highlights of Kentucky Derby coverage Saturday on NBC and Peacock include:
· Nine races during NBC and Peacock’s five hours of coverage (15 live races over Friday’s and Saturday’s total coverage)
· “How to Call a Race” featuring Telemundo’s Emmy-award winning sportscaster Andres Cantor and renowned race caller Larry Collmus
· “The Descendants” providing a look into the lineage of the 1st, 50th, and 100th Kentucky Derby winners
· A feature on the underdog story of Larry Demeritte – trainer of West Saratoga, among the Derby’s biggest longshots (30-1)
· A look into World Series champion (2008 Phillies) and All-Star outfielder Jayson Werth’s ownership of Dornoch, a contender in this year’s Derby
· Mike Tirico interviews Mike Repole, the owner of Fierceness, as he aims to win his first Derby after having last year’s favorite Forte scratch
· Feature on famed jockey Frankie Dettori, who recently came out of retirement. He is set to ride Society Man in the Derby
· “Kentucky Derby for 3-Year-Olds” segment in which Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss give a tour of the Kentucky Derby Museum to a class of three-year-old children
· Feature on the connection between Just Steel’s 88-year-old trainer D. Wayne Lukas and rider Keith Asmussen – son of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen
· A new set location overlooking the newly constructed paddock at Churchill Downs, which will include SkyCam coverage from the paddock
· A “Phantom Camera,” which has been used on golf coverage, providing super slo-mo replays and reactions to make sure viewers don’t miss a moment
· A live drone and two live jockey cam systems will be utilized in Derby coverage (among 54 total cameras)
· The 360 Glam Cam on the red carpet for celebrities to show off their Derby Day outfits and make their race picks
· Two Nucleus cameras – one on each finish line – providing fans with a unique super slo-mo look at any photo finishes
· A camera focused on race caller Larry Collmus
· A POV camera in the steward’s room
· A Bat Camera – which will fly alongside the horses as they race down the backstretch
NBC SPORTS’ UPCOMING HORSE RACING COVERAGE SCHEDULE
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Platform(s) |
| Fri., May 3 | 1 p.m. | Kentucky Oaks | USA Network, Peacock |
| Sat., May 4 | Noon | Kentucky Derby Prep races | USA Network, Peacock |
| 2:30 p.m. | 150th Kentucky Derby | NBC, Peacock | |
| Fri., May 17 | 4:30 p.m. | Black-Eyed Susan | Peacock |
| Sat., May 18 | 1:30 p.m. | Preakness Stakes Prep races | CNBC, Peacock |
| 4:30 p.m. | 149th Preakness Stakes | NBC, Peacock |
KENTUCKY DERBY COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.COM & THE NBC SPORTS APP
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream live coverage to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TVs via authentication, giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC’s broadcasts. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast.
NBC SPORTS AUDIO KENTUCKY DERBY COVERAGE
NBC Sports Audio (channel 85 on SiriusXM radios and the SiriusXM app) will present a full day of live Kentucky Derby coverage on Saturday, May 4, with a four-hour special edition of Down the Stretch beginning at 10 a.m. ET. A three-hour pre-race show, hosted by Steve Byk live from Churchill Downs, begins at 2 p.m. ET, leading into NBC Sports’ coverage of the 150th “Run for the Roses” from 5-7:30 p.m. ET with Larry Collmus handling the live race calls. This is the third consecutive year NBC Sports and SiriusXM have teamed to produce audio coverage of the Kentucky Derby.
NBC SPORTS AND HORSE RACING
NBC Sports is the exclusive home to the most important and prestigious events in horse racing, including the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Royal Ascot, and Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series.
--NBC SPORTS--
