From the Churchill Downs Media Team / Darren Rogers:

NBC SPORTS PRESENTS THE 152ND KENTUCKY DERBY THIS SATURDAY, MAY 2 AT 2:30 P.M. ET ON NBC AND PEACOCK

 NBC Sports to Present 10 Live Races on Saturday, 16 Races Across Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Day

Live Coverage from Churchill Downs Begins with Five Hours of Kentucky Oaks Day Races this Friday, May 1, at 4 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN; Continuing at 8 p.m. ET with First-Ever Primetime Running of the Kentucky Oaks on NBC and Peacock

NBC Sports’ 7.5 Hours of Derby Day Coverage Begins Saturday, May 2, at Noon ET on Peacock and NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 27, 2026 – NBC Sports presents coverage of the 152nd Kentucky Derby on NBC and Peacock this Saturday, May 2, at 2:30 p.m. ET live from iconic Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. The 2026 “Run for the Roses” marks NBC Sports’ 26th presentation of the Kentucky Derby – a show which has grown markedly since NBC’s initial 90-minute broadcast 25 years ago in 2001.

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 Peacock and NBCSN. This week’s live coverage from Churchill Downs begins with five hours of Kentucky Oaks day racing on Friday, May 1, beginning at 4 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN, leading into the first-ever Kentucky Oaks broadcast in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Over the two days, NBC Sports will present 16 live races from Churchill Downs.

Telemundo Deportes will present live coverage of the 152nd Kentucky Derby, beginning Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET on Universo, and streaming on the Telemundo app.

The 152nd Kentucky Derby features morning-line favorite Renegade (4-1), who had an impressive come-from-behind victory in the 2026 Arkansas Derby (G1). Other contenders include 2026 Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner Further Ado (6-1), this year’s Florida Derby (G1) winner Commandment (6-1) who is entering the Derby on a four-race win streak, 2026 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) runner-up Chief Wallabee (8-1), and 2026 Tampa Bay Derby (G3) winner The Puma (10-1).

COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports’ coverage of the Kentucky Derby features host Mike Tirico, in his 10th Kentucky Derby assignment; analysts Jerry Bailey, the Hall of Fame jockey and two-time Kentucky Derby winner, and Randy Moss, who is covering the Derby for the 46th 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.

Working her final Kentucky Derby, Brothers is the only member of the announce team to work all of NBC Sports’ Kentucky Derby presentations.

Rebecca Lowe returns to NBC Sports’ Derby coverage as feature host and 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 sixth Derby. NBC News’ Dylan Dreyer, a veteran of NBC Sports’ Kentucky Derby and Royal Ascot horse racing coverage, will serve as fashion and lifestyle host. TODAY style correspondent Zanna Roberts Rassi will report on all race day looks. Tim Layden, who covers his 22nd Kentucky Derby between Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports, writes a feature essay, now available on NBCSports.com, reflecting on what makes horses so special, and the heartbeat of a celebratory day like the first Saturday in May.

NBC Sports’ John Fanta joins Derby coverage for his first trip to Churchill Downs as a reporter on the infield, covering the lively atmosphere in the lead-up to the “Run for the Roses.”

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 Tim Nelson. Executive producer and president, NBC Sports Production is Sam Flood.

Highlights of this weekend’s Kentucky Derby coverage on NBC, Peacock and NBCSN include:

  • 10 races during 7.5 hours of Saturday coverage on NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN (16 live races over Friday’s and Saturday’s 12.5 total coverage hours).
  • A feature on Robert and Lawana Low, who built a trucking empire after starting with a single dump truck in 1970. The Lows raised morning-line favorite Renegade on their farm in Springfield, Missouri, and own 50% of the horse (Mike Repole owns the other 50%).
  • A look back with trainer Michael Matz on the 20th anniversary of Barbaro’s Kentucky Derby win by an impressive 6 ½ lengths. The colt broke his leg two weeks later in the Preakness, and despite efforts to help him recover, he ultimately died several months later. A statue of Barbaro was unveiled at Churchill Downs in 2009 to commemorate his legacy, and his ashes are buried beneath the memorial.
  • A tribute to the late trainer D. Wayne Lukas and his 1996 Kentucky Derby win with Grindstone.  Lukas passed away at age 89 in June 2025.Gary Stevens, the retired Hall of Fame jockey turned jockey agent, purchased Lukas and his wife, Laurie’s Oaklawn home in December. Lukas’ legacy influenced generations and transformed the horse racing industry.
  • A look back at Grindstone (with NBC Sports’ Jerry Bailey as his jockey), who 30 years ago edged out Cavonnier by a nose, and retired from racing five days later after a bone chip was discovered in his knee.
  • Mike Smith, 59, who is expected to ride So Happy, discusses the opportunity to break 54-year-old Bill Shoemaker’s record as the oldest jockey to ever win the Kentucky Derby. Shoemaker rode Ferdinand to victory 40 years ago in 1986. This Saturday’s race will be a record-extending 29th Derby mount for Smith, who is set to become the oldest jockey to ride in the Derby.
  • A look at Southern California-based trainer Mark Glatt, who earned a trip to Louisville by winning the Santa Anita Derby on April 4. Glatt’s wife, Dena, died on February 12. Following So Happy’s Santa Anita win, Glatt shared, “It’s not the same, I can’t help wishing she was here. It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my life. She was always right by my side and supported me…It’s just a very big void in the day.”
  • Steve Kornacki serves as a “substitute teacher” in a Louisville classroom of three-year olds, delivering a lesson in the ABCs of horseracing.
  • A unique story about local Kentucky car mechanic Don Kleier, who played the part of an official photographer by dressing well and bringing his camera into the famed Kentucky Derby Winner’s Circle for 30 consecutive years. Kleier recently passed away, leaving his archive of rare behind-the-scenes footage from Churchill Downs.
  • An inside peek at a “day in the life” of jockeys riding in the 152nd Kentucky Derby.
  • Right to Party jockey Chris Elliott reflects on watching his father, Stewart Elliott win the Kentucky Derby as Smarty Jones’ jockey in 2004. Elliott, 20, will become the youngest jockey to ride in the race in nearly 20 years (Fernando Jara rode Jazil to a fourth-place finish as an 18-year-old in 2006 and Cowtown Cat to a 20th-place finish as a 19-year-old in 2007). Chris and Stewart Elliott will become the third father-son jockey duo to race in the Kentucky Derby (Johnny and John Ralph Adams, Bobby and E.T. Baird).

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, one providing race coverage, and a second capturing the pageantry between races
  • “RED” cameras which will be used to capture fashion, the red carpet, and scenes from around Churchill Downs
  • Four Nucleus cameras to provide a unique super slo-mo look at photo finishes. There will be two Nucleus cameras on each finish line (on the dirt and grass tracks).
  • Multiple mobile phones 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 unique amphitheater-style paddock
  • Backstretch “Bat Cam” – which flies alongside the horses at high speeds as they race down the backstretch
  • Multiple jockey cameras and a camera mounted to the outrider
  • A camera focused on race caller Larry Collmus
  • Multiple cameras placed around the track providing fans at COSM locations with views of all the action

NBC SPORTS’ UPCOMING HORSE RACING COVERAGE SCHEDULE
Date Time (ET) Event Platform(s)
Fri., May 1 4 p.m. Kentucky Oaks Undercard Peacock, NBCSN
Fri., May 1 8 p.m. Kentucky Oaks NBC, Peacock
Sat., May 2 Noon Kentucky Derby Undercard Peacock, NBCSN
Sat., May 2 2:30 p.m. 152nd Kentucky Derby NBC, Peacock
Fri., May 15 4:30 p.m. Black-Eyed Susan Peacock, NBCSN
Sat., May 16 1 p.m. Preakness Stakes Undercard Peacock, NBCSN
Sat., May 16 4 p.m. 150th Preakness Stakes NBC, Peacock

 

NBC SPORTS RADIO KENTUCKY DERBY COVERAGE

NBC Sports Radio (channel 85 on SiriusXM and the SiriusXM app) will present a full day of live Kentucky Derby coverage on Saturday, May 2, with a four-hour special edition of Down the Stretch beginning at 10 a.m. ET. A three-hour pre-race show, hosted by Steve Byk live from Churchill Downs, begins at 2 p.m. ET, leading into NBC Sports’ coverage of the 152nd “Run for the Roses” from 5-7:30 p.m. ET with Larry Collmus handling the live race calls. The race broadcast will be simulcast on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio (channel 82). This is the fifth consecutive year NBC Sports and SiriusXM have teamed to produce audio coverage of the Kentucky Derby.

NBC SPORTS AND HORSE RACING

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.