Who will make ‘Riders Up’ call, sing the national anthem at 2026 Kentucky Derby?
Legendary jockey Pat Day will make this year’s “Riders Up” call at the Kentucky Derby, with Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks singing the National Anthem, according to Churchill Downs.
Day is no stranger to the Derby — he holds all the career riding records at Churchill Downs and Keeneland, and rode in the Kentucky Derby 21 consecutive times. He won the 1992 Derby with Lil E. Tee, according to the Kentucky Derby Museum.
The Riders Up call is made shortly before the Derby, signaling the jockeys to mount their horses.
Tedeschi and Trucks lead the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a Grammy Award-winning blues-rock group.
Later in the evening, the UofL choir will lead the singing of “My Old Kentucky Home.”
The scheduled post time for the Kentucky Derby is approximately 6:57 p.m. on May 2, broadcast on NBC from Churchill Downs.