Live Five-Hour Kentucky Derby Show on NBC on “The First Saturday in September” Follows Live Three-Hour Kentucky Oaks Show on NBCSN on Friday
STAMFORD, Conn. – NBC Sports presents the 146th Kentucky Derby this Saturday, Sept. 5 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC live from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, as Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law aims to continue his run towards a most unique Triple Crown.
This year’s Kentucky Derby moved from the first Saturday in May to the first Saturday in September, marking the first time since 1931 that the Triple Crown races have not been run in the traditional Kentucky Derby-Preakness Stakes-Belmont Stakes sequence. Tiz the Law won the Belmont Stakes – this year’s first leg – by 3¾ lengths on June 20. The Preakness Stakes is Saturday, Oct. 3.
Live coverage begins this Friday, Sept. 4 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN with the Kentucky Oaks. Also this week, NBCSN presents four encore showings of NBC Sports Films’ American Pharoah documentary “Born to Run” on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 10:30 p.m. ET, on Oaks Day (Friday, Sept. 4) at 2 p.m. ET and midnight ET, and on Derby Day (Saturday, Sept. 5) at 1:30 p.m. ET. For more information on “Born to Run,” click here.
Beginning at Noon ET on Saturday with NASCAR Xfinity Series racing from Darlington, S.C., and culminating with the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC will broadcast 10 consecutive hours of live sports action (Noon-10 p.m. ET).
SOCIALLY-DISTANCED COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports’ coverage of the Kentucky Derby features host Mike Tirico and analysts Jerry Bailey, the Hall of Fame jockey and two-time Kentucky Derby winner, and Randy Moss, covering his 40th “Run for the Roses,” from NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn. Handicapper Eddie Olczyk joins from the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs bubble in Edmonton. Reporters Donna Brothers, Britney Eurton, Laffit Pincay III and Kenny Rice, and race caller Larry Collmus will be on-site at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. NBC Sports’ Rutledge Wood will host a virtual watch party from his home.
The coordinating producer of NBC’s horse racing coverage is Rob Hyland, who has been a part of the network’s horse racing coverage since 2001. The Kentucky Derby is directed by Pierre Moossa. Hyland and Moossa will be handling their roles from NBC Sports Group’s facility in Stamford. Executive producer and president, production, NBC Sports and NBCSN is Sam Flood.
Highlights of Kentucky Derby coverage Saturday on NBC include:
☆ Seven live races in the Kentucky Derby show, expected to include the Iroquois, a “Win and You’re In” for a berth in the $2 million TVG Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1).
☆ A feature on the connections of Belmont winner Tiz the Law, whose New York-based ownership group also won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes with Funny Cide in 2003.
☆ A look at Finnick the Fierce, a one-eyed gelding who is the only horse in the Derby field to finish ahead of Tiz the Law in a race, placing second in the Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs on Nov. 30 (Tiz the Law finished third).
☆ A history of Black jockeys in the Kentucky Derby – who rode the winning horse in 15 of the first 28 runnings of the Kentucky Derby.
☆ Mike Tirico speaks with Louisville native and world #3 ranked golfer Justin Thomas.
☆ Tim Layden takes a look back at the most unusual 2019 Kentucky Derby, and presents an essay on this year’s unique Triple Crown season.
☆ Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss remotely go “around the barns” to meet the contenders of the 146th Kentucky Derby.
☆ Virtual visits with fans across the country watching the Kentucky Derby.
☆ An 80-foot high main camera tower, and a camera focused on race caller Larry Collmus.
☆ Multiple jockeys and trainers will be mic’d.
NBC SPORTS AUDIO NETWORK KENTUCKY DERBY COVERAGE
In partnership with Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN), NBC Sports Audio Network will present live Kentucky Derby coverage beginning Saturday, September 5 at 5:30 p.m. ET featuring host Mike Penna and analysts Kurt Becker and Tom Leach. The broadcast will include a simulcast of the live race call by NBC Sports’ Larry Collmus. This is the sixth consecutive year HRRN and NBC Sports have teamed to produce radio coverage of the Triple Crown, which will be available throughout North America on SiriusXM satellite radio (channels 219 on Sirius and 201 on XM) along with terrestrial affiliates throughout the United States. Live streaming can also be accessed at NBCSports.com, and the HRRN website.
KENTUCKY DERBY COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.COM, NBC SPORTS APP & PEACOCK
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream live coverage to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TVs via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC’s broadcasts. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast. NBC Sports.com, the NBC Sports app, and Peacock– NBCUniversal’s streaming service – will provide a full race replay of the Kentucky Derby.
THIS WEEK’S NBC SPORTS HORSE RACING SCHEDULE (All Times ET)
Kentucky Oaks (LIVE)
Friday, Sept. 4, 3 p.m., NBCSN
Kentucky Derby (LIVE)
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2:30 p.m., NBC
NBC SPORTS GROUP AND HORSE RACING: NBC Sports Group is the exclusive home to the most important and prestigious events in horse racing, including the Triple Crown, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Royal Ascot, and Pegasus World Cup Invitational Series. NBC has been the exclusive home of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes since 2001, and the Belmont Stakes since 2011, when NBC Sports Group reassembled the Triple Crown.
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Press Release
Photo: Tiz the Law wins the 2020 Travers at Saratoga. Credit: Coglianese Photos
