152nd Kentucky Derby breaks ratings record with nearly 20 million average viewers
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- NBC reported the 152nd Kentucky Derby averaged 19.6 million viewers overall.
- The NBC telecast peaked at 24.4 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m.
- Golden Tempo won the race, making Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Derby winner.
The 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby broke the ratings record for the most-watched Kentucky Derby ever, with an average 19.6 million viewers, according to NBC.
The NBC broadcast generated nearly 2 million more average viewers than last year’s race, which was the most watched Kentucky Derby in 36 years. NBC said the broadcast peaked at 24.4 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m., when Jose Ortiz guided Golden Tempo through the other 17 horses in the 18-horse field down the home stretch to hold the lead in the race’s final steps — and having to hold off his older brother, Irad Ortiz Jr., and the favored Renegade at the finish line.
The peak audience was up from 21.8 million last year, according to NBC.
Golden Tempo’s victory also made Cherie DeVaux, 44, the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby victor. Golden Tempo and his connections won $3.1 million of the $5 million prize purse from the race.
Second-place finisher Renegade, who was beaten at the wire by a neck by Golden Tempo, earned $1 million for his efforts. Third-place runner Ocelli got $500,000 for his performance, while fourth-place Chief Wallabee took home $250,000 and fifth-place Danon Bourbon earned $150,000
Friday’s Kentucky Oaks also set a ratings record with an average of 2.4 million viewers in its debut on NBC. The network said the previous record was in 1997 when an average of 593,000 viewers watched the Oaks on ESPN.
Trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Jose Ortiz, Always a Runner captured the signature race for 3-year-old fillies over a field of 13 runners. Always a Runner finished first in the 1 1/8-mile race over a fast main track at Churchill by 11/4 lengths over Meaning in second and 21/4 lengths over Counting Stars in third.
