The 151st Kentucky Derby is about to start as horses, jockeys, and spectators prepare for the big day.
Every year on the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, three-year-old thoroughbreds run the one and a quarter-mile track in the famous race.
It’s the most-watched and best-attended of the American “Triple Crown” events. The 2024 race was won by Mystik Dan, ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr. for trainer Kenneth McPeek.
The purse for this year’s derby is $5 million. In horse racing, 60 percent of the money typically goes to the horse and jockey that place first, with the percentage decreasing based on their respective placements.
The typical prize split for the winning horse is 80 percent going to the horse’s owners, 10 percent to the trainer, and 10 percent to the jockey.
This year’s favored horse to win is Journalism, with 7-2 odds as of Friday afternoon. But you never know, and viewers can tune in on Saturday to see if any other competitors come out on top.
How to watch
The Kentucky Derby can be viewed on NBC on Saturday, May 3. Viewers can also stream the races on Peacock, NBCSports.com, or the NBC Sports app.
The live coverage will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET. Post time for the derby is 6:57 p.m. ET.
Runners and Riders
Numbers 4 (Rodriguez) and 10 (Grande) were scratched prior to the race
1. Citizen Bull (Trainer: Bob Baffert, Jockey: Martin Garcia)
2. Neoequos(Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr., Jockey: Luis Saez)
3. Final Gambit (Trainer: Brad H. Cox, Jockey:Luan Machado.)
5. American Promise (Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas, Jockey: Nik Juarez)
6. Admire Daytona (Trainer: Yukihiro Kato, Jockey: Christophe Lemaire )
7. Luxor Cafe (Trainer: Noriyuki Hori, Jockey: Joao Moreira)
8. Journalism (Trainer: Mike McCarthy, Jockey: Umberto Rispoli)
9. Burnham Square (Trainer: Ian R. Wilkes, Jockey: Brian T. Hernandez Jr.)
11. Flying Mohawk (Trainer: D. Whitworth Beckman, Jockey: Joseph D. Ramos )
12. East Avenue (Trainer: Brendan P. Walsh, Jockey: Luan Machado)
13. Publisher (Trainer: Steven M. Asmussen, Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr)
14. Tiztastic (Trainer: Steven M. Asmussen, Jockey: Joel Rosario)
15. Render Judgement (Trainer: Kenneth G. McPeek, Jockey: Julien Leparoux)
16. Coal Battle (Trainer: Lonnie Briley, Jockey: Juan P. Vargas)
17. Sandman (Trainer: Mark Casse, Jockey: Jose L. Ortiz)
18. Sovereignty (Trainer: William I. Mott, Jockey: Manuel Franco)
19. Chunk of Gold (Trainer: Ethan W. West, Jockey: Jareth Loveberry)
20. Owen Almighty (Trainer: Brian Lynch, Jockey: Javier Castellano)
21. Baeza (Trainer: John Shirreffs, Jockey: Flavien Prat)
