The Kentucky Derby: What to Know About the 152nd Run for the Roses

The Kentucky Derby has been called the most exciting two minutes in sports, the greatest two minutes in sports and the fastest two minutes in sports. It also might be the most-watched two minutes in sports and the best-attended two minutes in sports. In advance of the 152nd Run for the Roses on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, here is a two-minute primer on this year’s race.

The Essentials: Twenty horses will compete in the  1 1/4-mile race that begins at 6:57 p.m. ET on NBC. The network’s live coverage on Derby Day begins at 2:30 p.m., but the network is also airing the Kentucky Oaks (the top race for female horses, or fillies, held one day before the Derby) in primetime for the first time on Friday night at 8 p.m.

The Audience: In addition to the 147,000 fans in attendance, last year 17.7 million viewers tuned into the race, the largest since 1989 and the 10th-largest non-NFL sporting event audience of the year on television.

The Favorite: Renegade. The winner of the Arkansas Derby in March will start from the post and is roughly a 4-to-1 favorite, better than Commandment (6-to-1; the Florida Derby winner) and Wallabee (8-to-1). The winner will have claimed the first leg in the Triple Crown and a shot at becoming just the 14th to win the Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, which was last done by Justify in 2018.

The Long Shot: Four horses — Six Speed, Great White, Ocella and Robusta — are listed as 50-1 odds. The biggest longshot winner in Derby history is Donerail, who was 91-to-1 when he won in 1913. However, recent years have seen a number of upsets, most notably in 2022, when Rich Strike overcame 80-1 odds to win and 2019, when Country House won at 65-1.

The Fastest Ever: The legendary Secretariat ran the fastest Derby in history, clocking 1:59.4 in 1973. Despite its various “two minute” monikers, only three horses have actually finished the race in that time: Monarchos ran 1:59.97 in 2001 and Northern Dancer finished in 2:00 flat in 1964.

The Pageantry: No sporting event packs as many hallmarks into such a short event. From the big hats to the singing of “My Old Kentucky Home” (played by the University of Louisville marching band) before the race to the mint juleps (made with Kentucky bourbon, naturally) in the stands and the blanket of roses draped over the victorious thoroughbred (made from 465 freshly picked roses), the Derby is as much about pageantry as sport.