Kentucky Derby sets viewership record in most-watched race since 1989 as Sovereignty wins at Churchill Downs

This year’s Kentucky Derby was the most-watched in decades.

Roughly 17.7 million people tuned in to watch Sovereignty win the Kentucky Derby on Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs, NBC announced on Sunday. That’s up about 6% from last year’s race, which made it the most-watched Kentucky Derby since 1989.

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Viewership peaked at about 21.8 million for the final race, too. That’s up about 8% from last year's peak, which also set a new Kentucky Derby record for the network.

Sovereignty surged ahead down the stretch on a muddy track in Kentucky on Saturday to narrowly beat Journalism — who was the betting favorite entering the race — and claim the 151st Kentucky Derby. It was the first Kentucky Derby win for owner Godolphin, which is the organization owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and jockey Junior Alvarado. It was the second Kentucky Derby win for Bill Mott, who was the horse’s trainer.

“He made up a lot of ground in a hurry,” Mott said afterward, according to the Los Angeles Times. “This one got here the right way. I mean, he’s done well, he’s a great horse. He comes to us from a great organization. [Godolphin] and I can’t say enough about the horse and the organization that started him out and did everything to make this happen.”

More than 147,000 people attended the race at Churchill Downs on Saturday despite the rainy conditions. That’s down from last year’s attendance of about 156,700 people. The track said that wagering from all sources on the entire day of racing at the Kentucky Derby hit $349 million, too, which beat the all-time record.

NBC will also broadcast the Preakness Stakes later this month, where Sovereignty will attempt to win its second straight race and pursue the Triple Crown. Justify was the last horse to pull that feat off in 2018.