The Kentucky Derby is the most popular horse race in the world that attracts the attention of millions of fans. Apart from the 150.000 lucky attendants at the Churchill Downs racetrack, the Kentucky Derby is internationally broadcasted and is available in most parts of the world.
One way to measure the popularity of an event is to browse through the views that it gets on TV. The Kentucky Derby remains to be the most prestigious horse race in the world, despite the downhill run in terms of viewership since the Covid-19 outbreak.
This is also one of the longest-running horse races on the planet, which averaged around 15 million viewers each year since 2013. However, as we mentioned before, the social isolation and the lack of sporting interest due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in the lowest viewership count in 2020.
In fact, the Kentucky Derby in 2020 recorded the lowest audience since 2011 with a total viewership count of 9.4 million. Before 2020, the Kentucky Derby has broken many records in terms of watch time. The race in 2019 according to NBC, had average coverage of 16.5 million viewers and was on an upward momentum when it comes to the increasing popularity of the event.
Despite the drop in viewership in 2020, the Kentucky Derby is still one of the most popular horse racing events which are proven by the viewership from last year which peaked at 15.7 million. This was also one of the most talked-about sporting events at the time, maybe because of the controversial race where Medina Spirit was disqualified.
This was also named NBC’s most-watched broadcast since the NFL Divisional Playoffs in January. In comparison to the most popular sport in the US, football, the Kentucky Derby holds really well.
Even though horse racing is overshadowed by other sports in many parts of the world, the Kentucky Derby still manages to come close to the biggest sports in the world. For example, the average number of viewers per game on an NFL seasonal game is 17.3 in 2021, which is a 17% increase over the last year.
On the other hand, we have the Kentucky Derby with close to 16 million views last year, which expects an increase and an overall record this year. This proves that the Kentucky Derby is one of the biggest races in the horse racing calendar. If you are curious, you can check the 2022 Kentucky Derby odds here.
Additionally, the Kentucky Derby also holds one of the biggest crowds ever seen in horse racing. Churchill Downs can accommodate 150.000 people and every year the event is filled to the last seat, except the pandemic year when only around 50.000 people visited this incredible event.
Broadcast
Although the Kentucky Derby managed to break records, it is still far from its full potential. With NBC holding the exclusive rights for the Kentucky Derby, watching this glorious event in certain parts of the world can be difficult.
NBC has the right to sell the broadcast to other smaller channels even across the sea, but there are still some regions where watching the Kentucky Derby is impossible.
We expect an increase in the popularity of the Kentucky Derby largely from the increased attraction for the sport, as well as from the additional regions that are covered by an official broadcast every year.
Most people that are living outside of the U.S have trouble finding an official broadcast, especially if their local channels decide not to purchase the rights for the Kentucky Derby. They are left with only one option, which includes watching the Kentucky Derby using a VPN.
However, we expect the viewership to increase as the coverage of this extraordinary horse racing event expands to new locations.
Either way, the long-running tradition of the Kentucky Derby made this race one of the biggest horse racing events in the world. That’s why many people refer to the Kentucky Derby as the “most exciting two minutes in sports”.
