152nd Kentucky Derby Was “Most Watched” In History With An Average of 19.6 Million Viewers

From the Churchill Downs Media Team / Darren Rogers:

NBC SPORTS DELIVERS THE MOST-WATCHED KENTUCKY DERBY ON RECORD, AVERAGING 19.6 MILLION VIEWERS ON NBC & PEACOCK IN HISTORIC “RUN FOR THE ROSES”

Friday’s Kentucky Oaks Under the Lights Also Sets Record: In Primetime for First Time, 152^nd Kentucky Oaks Quadruples Prior Audience Record, Averaging 2.4 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock

Kentucky Derby Audience Peaked at Record 24.4 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock as Golden Tempo Made Charge Around Final Turn to Win by a Neck

Led by Peacock, 2026 Kentucky Derby is Most Streamed Ever

 Derby-Winner Golden Tempo Invited to Run in 151^st Preakness Stakes — Sat., May 16 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC & Peacoc

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 3, 2026 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Saturday’s history-making 152^ndKentucky Derby delivered the most watched “Run for the Roses” on record with an average of 19.6 million viewers on NBC and Peacock – topping by 11% last year’s Derby audience (17.7 million viewers, won by Sovereignty), which was the event’s largest in 36 years (18.5 million viewers in 1989 for Sunday Silence victory) – according to preliminary data from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

Viewership peaked at 24.4 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, as jockey Jose Ortiz guided Golden Tempo around the final turn to win by a neck over Renegade, and made Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner. The peak audience was also the largest ever for an NBC Sports presentation of the Kentucky Derby (up 12% from 21.8 million last year).

Saturday was the second consecutive record-setting day at Churchill Downs, following Friday night’s 152^nd Kentucky Oaks, which was contested for the first time under the lights in primetime. NBC Sports’presentation of Always A Runner’s 1¼-length victory averaged a record 2.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock – four times the prior Kentucky Oaks record (593,000 viewers in 1997 on ESPN) and nearly eight times the average of the last three years’ audiences (304,000 on USA Network).

Led by Peacock, the “Run for the Roses” posted NBC Sports’ largest streaming audience for a horse racing event with an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 1.3 million viewers – up 36% from last year (959,000) and nearly doubling 2024 (714,000).

NBC Sports has averaged 15+ million viewers across all platforms for 11 of the last 13 Kentucky Derby races held in May (2013-2024, excludes 2020 Covid-impacted event which was moved to September).

With 19.6 million viewers (6:32-7:27 p.m. ET), the 2026 Kentucky Derby will rank as NBC’s most-watched Saturday program since the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Official metrics will be available on Tuesday.

151ST PREAKNESS STAKES ON NBC AND PEACOCK, MAY 16: Kentucky Derby winnerGolden Tempo has been invited to take the next step towards the Triple Crown at the Preakness Stakes, in two weeks on Saturday, May 16. NBC Sports’ coverage of the 151st Preakness Stakes from Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., begins with the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes on Friday, May 15, at 4:30 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN.  NBC Sports presents the 151st Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 16, at 4 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, with coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN.