NBC Sports Celebrates Their 25th Telecast of the Kentucky Derby

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’ Derby day coverage features 10 races across 7.5 hours -- five hours on NBC and Peacock on Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET), which follows the opening 2.5 hours beginning at Noon ET on USA Network and Peacock. Live coverage from Churchill Downs begins with five hours of Kentucky Oaks day racing this Friday, May 2, beginning at 1 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock. Over the two days, NBC Sports will present 17 live races from Churchill Downs.

Telemundo Deportes will present live coverage of the 151st Kentucky Derby, beginning Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET on Universo, and streaming on the Telemundo app.

The 151st Kentucky Derby features morning-line favorite Journalism (3-1), who won the 2025 Santa Anita Derby (G1) and the 2025 San Felipe Stakes (G2). Other contenders include 2025 Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Sandman (6-1), this year’s Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner Burnham Square (12-1), 2025 Florida Derby (G1) runner-up Sovereignty (5-1), and 2025 Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Tiztastic (20-1).

NBC Sports and The Kentucky Derby 

NBC Sports will continue to present the Kentucky Derby on NBC and Peacock through 2032, as Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) and NBC Sports recently announced a multi-year extension of their partnership.

The extension of the NBC Sports-Churchill Downs relationship – which began with the 2001 “Run for the Roses” – makes NBC the longest running home of the Kentucky Derby, as NBCUniversal will become the first media company to present the most prestigious event in horse racing for three decades (32 editions of the Kentucky Derby from 2001-32).

Last year, the 150th Derby averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 16.7 million viewers – marking the largest Kentucky Derby audience since 1989, and on Peacock, the “Run for the Roses” posted NBC Sports’ largest streaming audience for a horse racing event nearly doubling the year prior. 

See below to learn more about the 2025 Kentucky Derby.

When is the 2025 Kentucky Derby?

The 151st annual Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 3, at historic Churchill Downs.

Who are the Commentators at the 2025 Kentucky Derby?

NBC Sports’ coverage of the Kentucky Derby features host Mike Tirico, anchoring Derby coverage for the ninth 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 45th time; handicappers Eddie Olczyk and Matt Bernier; host/reporter Ahmed Fareed; reporters Britney Eurton, Donna Brothers, Kenny Rice, and Nick Luck; and race caller Larry Collmus. Brothers is the only member of the announce team to work all 25 of NBC Sports’ Kentucky Derby presentations.

Rebecca Lowe returns to NBC Sports’ Derby coverage to explore the pageantry surrounding the “Run for the Roses.”

Steve Kornacki, chief data analyst for NBC News and NBC Sports, returns as insights analyst for his fifth Derby. NBC News’ Dylan Dreyer, a veteran of NBC Sports’ Kentucky Derby and Royal Ascot horse racing coverage, will serve as a fashion and lifestyle correspondent. NBC Sports’ Tim Layden will write and narrate an essay on trainer Bob Baffert’s return to the Kentucky Derby, following his three-year ban from the event.

The supervising 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 Jared Sumner. Executive producer and president, NBC Sports Production is Sam Flood.

Highlights of Kentucky Derby weekend coverage on NBC, Peacock and USA Network

• 10 races during 7.5 hours of Saturday coverage on NBC, Peacock, and USA Network (17 live races over Friday’s and Saturday’s 12.5 coverage hours)
• Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss get a sneak peek and memorable ride on the Stardust Racers dual-launch rollercoaster at the new Universal Epic Universe in Orlando (which opens May 22)
• A three-part reflection on the 10th Anniversary of American Pharoah’s Kentucky Derby win; with vignettes featuring owner Justin Zayat, jockey Victor Espinoza, and a visit to Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud, where American Pharoah remains a global attraction.
• A feature on trainer Michael McCarthy preparing Derby favorite Journalism in what has been an emotional year for McCarthy and his family after being displaced from their home due to the southern California wildfires int January
• A look at how Citizen Bull jockey Martin Garcia began his career as a jockey in the United States, and his relationship with Terri Terry, the owner of the sandwich shop where he worked when he first came to the U.S. Terry, who treated Garcia like a son, introduced him to riding. She died earlier this year.
• Steve Kornacki profiles the legendary 89-year-old trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who is aiming for his fifth career Derby win (American Promise)
• Mike Tirico interviews Bob Baffert, the trainer of Citizen Bull and Rodriguez, as he aims to win a record-setting seventh “Run for the Roses.”
• “Team Chunk of Gold” -- the Derby longshot who was initially sold for just $2,500 as a yearling, and his connections – coming to the Derby for the first time

NBC Sports’ coverage will also feature unique cameras and other technological innovations including:

• A “Phantom Camera” for super slo-mo replays and reactions
• Two live drones, for the first time, with one providing race coverage and a second capturing the pageantry between races
• New “RED” cameras which will be used to capture fashion, the red carpet, and scenes from around Churchill Downs
• Four Nucleus cameras – up from the two used in the camera’s Derby debut last year – provide a unique super slo-mo look at photo finishes. This year there will be two Nucleus cameras on each finish line (on the dirt and grass tracks) after last year’s show introduced one on each finish line
• Multiple iPhone cameras to capture immediate live reactions from the connections of the Derby horses
• Extended SkyCam coverage providing a live scope of the horses, trainers, and fans watching in the amphitheater
• Backstretch “Bat Cam” – which flies alongside the horses at high speeds as they race down the backstretch
• Multiple jockey cameras and a camera on the outrider
• A camera focused on race caller Larry Collmus
• The debut of COSM at the Derby, with multiple cameras placed around the track providing fans at COSM locations with views of all of the action

2025 Kentucky Derby Leaderboard Standings:

As the excitement for the “Run for the Roses” rises, so does the competition. Click here to see the current 2025 Kentucky Derby standings.

How to Watch the 2025 Kentucky Derby:

Fans can watch the 151st Kentucky Derby live on Saturday, May 3, with coverage beginning at 12 PM ET on USA Network and NBC, or stream it live on Peacock.