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NBC, Peacock post record viewership for 151st Kentucky Derby

On3 imageby:Sam Gillenwater•05/04/25•

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Sovereignty wins the 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 3, 2025 - Imagn Images
Imagn Images

The 151st Kentucky Derby had an exciting finish yesterday evening at Churchill Downs in Louisville. A record audience got to take it in too around the world on the broadcast and through streaming.

Per NBC Sports PR the following day, the 151st Kentucky Derby peaked at a viewing audience of 21.8 million people. That’s the largest rating for the network since it began airing the run for the roses a quarter century ago.

Per Churchill Downs, 147,406 people took in the derby live from the crown on Saturday. That pushes the total number who took it in, based on those two statistics, to nearly 22 million in 2025.

The muddy conditions yesterday didn’t make for any less exciting of a race in the running of the 151st Kentucky Derby. Sovereignty would go on to pull away to win in the end with a time of 2:02.31. He would win over Journalism, the favorite this year, with a place in second and Baeza with a show in third in a nineteen-horse race. With that, Sovereignty would take $3.1 million of the purse with the victory with Junior Alvarado, his jockey, winning his first derby while Bill Mott, his trainer, won his second after doing so with Country House in 2019. Their team will now decide from here if he’ll enter the Preakness Stakes in two weeks time for the chance at the second leg of the Triple Crown.

The Kentucky Derby, as always, brought tons of celebrities among those in attendance yesterday at Churchill Downs. Simone Biles called for Riders Up after Livvy Dunne did so on Friday for the Kentucky Oaks. Guy Fieri, Shaboozey, and Chris Tucker were among the many celebs also taking it in. Several athletes did too like Carmelo Anthony from the NBA along with many more from the NFL like Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Will Levis, Jaxson Dart and Wan’Dale Robinson, Xavier Legette, and Jonathan Owens. That’s not to mention the in-state names from around the bluegrass like Governor Andy Beshear and Kentucky’s Mark Pope

More on Sovereignty winning the 151st Kentucky Derby

The first Saturday in May means all eyes turn toward Churchill Downs. The 2025 Kentucky Derby took place Saturday evening, and it was shaping up to be an intriguing race.

It was a muddy track at Churchill Downs, meaning this year’s Kentucky Derby would include the first sloppy track since 2019. That added to the intrigue around the race, which saw Journalism enter as the favorite after three consecutive victories. Ultimately, Sovereignty came away as the winner of the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby. Journalism finished second after making a run down the stretch, followed by Baeza and Final Gambit.

It’s now on to the Preakness Stakes for the second leg of the Triple Crown. That’s scheduled for May 17th in Baltimore, Maryland.