NBC’s TV-Only Kentucky Derby Averaged 18.0 Million Viewers as Maximum Security & Country House Crossed Finish Line, Before Peaking at 18.5 Million Viewers for Post-Race Coverage from 7-7:15 PM ET

Total Audience Delivery for Blue Jackets-Bruins Game 5 Averages 4.618 Million Viewers, Up 7% vs. Comparable 2018 Game; Game 6 TONIGHT at 7 PM ET on NBCSN

Kentucky Derby is Most-Watched Saturday Program on Any Network since NFL Divisional Playoffs in February

NBC Sports Digital Sets Kentucky Derby Record

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 6, 2019 – NBC Sports’ presentation of the 145^th Kentucky Derby on NBC followed immediately by the primetime Columbus Blue Jackets-Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Playoff Game 5 on Saturday posted multiple viewership increases and milestones, according to fast national data provided by Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

The victory by Country House in the “Run for the Roses” posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 16.5 million viewers across NBC and NBC Sports Digital platforms – up 10% from last year’s race (15.0 million) featuring eventual Triple Crown winner Justify, and marking television’s largest Saturday audience since the NFL Divisional Playoffs (Jan. 12, 2019). NBC Sports Digital’s presentation of the Kentucky Derby delivered a record Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 130,400 viewers for the event via the NBC Sports app and NBCSports.com.

NBC averaged 18.0 million TV-only Kentucky Derby viewers when Maximum Security and Country House crossed the finish line in the 6:45-7 p.m. ET quarter hour, before peaking at 18.5 million viewers for the dramatic post-race coverage on NBC from 7-7:15 p.m. ET.

NBC Sports has averaged at least 15 million viewers for the Kentucky Derby for seven consecutive years – the longest streak for the event in People Meter history (since 1988).

Leading out of the historic Kentucky Derby coverage, Columbus-Boston Game 5 of the Second Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged a TAD of 4.618 million viewers in primetime on NBC, making it the second-most watched non-Stanley Cup Final NHL game on record (since 1993). The game trails only Game 7 of the 2015 Western Conference Final between Chicago and Anaheim (4.636 million).

Viewership for Columbus-Boston Game 5 was up 7% vs. last year’s Pittsburgh-Washington Game 5 (4.318 million), which also followed Kentucky Derby coverage.

Columbus delivered a 15.2 local rating for Game 5, NBC Sports’ highest rating on record for an NHL game in the market. Boston scored a 15.1 rating. Following are the Top 5 markets for Columbus-Boston Game 5:

Rank	Market	Rating
1	Columbus	15.2
2	Boston	15.1
3	Providence	12.5
4	Louisville	9.0
5	Buffalo	6.8

 

Game 6 of the series begins tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

144TH PREAKNESS STAKES ON NBC SPORTS, MAY 18: In two weeks, Kentucky Derby winner Country House attempts the next step in his Triple Crown quest. NBC Sports’ coverage of The 144th Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Md., begins Friday, May 17 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.  NBC presents The Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 18 at 5:00 p.m. ET, with coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

PREAKNESS STAKES COVERAGE
Date	Time	Event	Network
Fri., May 17	3 p.m.	Black Eyed Susan	NBCSN
Sat., May 18	2 p.m.	Preakness Saturday	NBCSN
Sat., May 18	5:00 p.m.	Preakness Stakes	NBC

 

KENTUCKY DERBY VIEWERSHIP (*TV + DIGITAL)

2019	16.5 million*	NBC	Country House
2018	15.0 million*	NBC	Justify
2017	16.5 million*	NBC	Always Dreaming
2016	15.6 million*	NBC	Nyquist
2015	16.1 million*	NBC	American Pharoah
2014	15.4 million*	NBC	California Chrome
2013	16.2 million*	NBC	Orb
2012	14.8 million*	NBC	I’ll Have Another
2011	14.5 million*	NBC	Animal Kingdom
2010	16.5 million	NBC	Super Saver
2009	16.1 million	NBC	Mine That Bird
2008	14.2 million	NBC	Big Brown
2007	13.7 million	NBC	Street Sense
2006	12.9 million	NBC	Barbaro
2005	13.6 million	NBC	Giacomo
2004	14.6 million	NBC	Smarty Jones
2003	11.8 million	NBC	Funny Cide
2002	12.8 million	NBC	War Emblem
2001	13.5 million	NBC	Monarchos
2000	9.1 million	ABC	Fusaichi Pegasus
1999	9.9 million	ABC	Charismatic
1998	9.5 million	ABC	Real Quiet
1997	11.3 million	ABC	Silver Charm
1996	11.0 million	ABC	Grindstone
1995	9.3 million	ABC	Thunder Gulch
1994	12.2 million	ABC	Go For Gin
1993	11.5 million	ABC	Sea Hero
1992	13.7 million	ABC	Lil E Tee
1991	13.4 million	ABC	Strike The Gold
1990	15.6 million	ABC	Unbridled
1989	18.5 million	ABC	Sunday Silence

 

 

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR 2019 KENTUCKY DERBY (Race Portion)

1.	Louisville	39.5/69
2.	Cincinnati	20.3/38
3.	Ft. Myers	19.4/37
4.	Indianapolis	18.6/34
5.	Knoxville	17.9/30
T6.	Dayton	17.6/33
T6.	Buffalo	17.6/32
8.	West Palm Beach	17.1/31
9.	Tampa	16.5/32
10.	Columbus	16.2/31
11.	Providence	15.7/29
12.	Boston	15.4/33
13.	Cleveland	14.9/30
14.	Orlando	14.8/31
15.	Baltimore	14.3/30
16.	Hartford	13.4/26
17.	New Orleans	13.1/23
18.	Pittsburgh	13.0/27
T19.	Greenville	12.7/21
T19.	Milwaukee	12.7/27

For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com.

–NBC SPORTS–

 

 

Laila Ali Narrates Show Open & Several Special Scenes at Churchill Downs

TODAY Show & Tonight Show to Feature Kentucky Derby Segments as NBCUniversal Surrounds Derby Day

NBC Sports Surrounds Derby with Social Media Blitz

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 2, 2019 – NBC Sports celebrates the 145^th Kentucky Derby with more than 18 hours of Kentucky Derby Week coverage highlighted by a five-hour live NBC broadcast from Churchill Downs at 2:30 p.m. ET this Saturday, May 4. A complete schedule of NBC Sports Group’s exclusive coverage of the Kentucky Derby is available here.

In preparation for the Derby, NBC Sports asked a number of celebrities and NBCUniversal personalities for their horse picks, including John Legend, Adam Levine, Charles Barkley, Katie Ledecky, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Shaquille O’Neal, Blake Shelton, Lil Jon, Gabrielle Union, and more. Their picks will be revealed during NBC’s Kentucky Derby broadcast on Saturday.

Former professional boxer Laila Ali, daughter of Louisville native and former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, will narrate NBC Sports’ show open, as well as several scene-setting vignettes this Saturday. A signature of NBC Sports’ Kentucky Derby coverage, the opening film celebrates the pageantry and rich history of Churchill Downs and will lead off the 6 p.m. ET hour of NBC’s coverage of the 145^th “Run for the Roses” this Saturday.

In addition, Grammy Award-winning country music superstar Jennifer Nettles will perform the national anthem inside the Kentucky Derby Winner’s Circle prior to the race.

Throughout the weekend, NBC Sports will surround the 145^th Kentucky Derby with a social media blitz, including a 360 glam cam, the return of the Peacock Paddock, and comprehensive content across On Her Turf and theSkimm social accounts.

360 GLAM CAM: NBC Sports will execute a Derby-themed 360 glam cam on the red carpet for celebrities to show off their look and make their picks.

PEACOCK PADDOCK: As the first stop on the Kentucky Oaks Pink Carpet and Kentucky Derby Red Carpet, the Peacock Paddock will capture the atmosphere at Churchill Downs to share with fans across the country.

Included in the Peacock Paddock is a 55-inch touch screen monitor to showcase derby fashion, social media trends, Kentucky Derby parties around the country, and assist lifestyle correspondents Dylan Dreyer and Von Miller with their segments.

ON HER TURF: The On Her Turf Instagram account will present a total social media blitz focused on women working in horse racing, including coverage of the Oaks on Friday and the Derby on Saturday. On Her Turf encourages fans to use #KYDerby and share pictures of new flip flops that will be distributed. In addition, Kathryn Tappen hosted a new Derby-themed podcast episode this week with NBC Sports’ Donna Brothers and Britney Eurton.

THESKIMM: NBC Sports has partnered with theSkimm to showcase content all weekend long across multiple social platforms.

EVERY PLATFORM, EVERY MOMENT: NBC Sports will be everywhere on every social platform during Derby Week, bringing fans closer to the first leg of the Triple Crown. Daily behind-the-scenes access via NBC Sports’ Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages will highlight exclusive areas at this once-in-a-lifetime event.

A wide range of NBCUniversal properties joined NBC Sports Group in celebrating the food, fashion, celebrity and entertainment spectacle that is the Kentucky Derby. A summary of Kentucky Derby Week activities and activations are below:

NBC ENTERTAINMENT – Famed musician and judge on The Voice Kelly Clarkson will star in a special promo during NBC’s primetime entertainment programming leading up to Derby Day. Click here to watch the full promo.

TODAY & WEEKEND TODAY – Dylan Dreyer, co-host of the 3^rd hour of TODAY and weekend TODAY weather anchor, will contribute to TODAY and Weekend TODAY live from Churchill Downs Friday and Saturday morning on the latest horse racing news and developments.

3^RD HOUR TODAY – Dreyer will report live from Churchill Downs on Friday. She will try a $1,000 mint julep and also give a sneak peak of the making of her outfit for Derby day.

TODAY WITH HODA AND JENNA –  On Wednesday, NBC Sports Group correspondent Rutledge Wood hosted a game of Derby trivia with fans from the plaza and the winner won a trip to the Derby. This morning, TODAY with Hoda and Jenna featured a new segment on how to throw the ultimate Kentucky Derby party.

NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH LESTER HOLT – On Friday, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt will tease NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby.

THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON – The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon gave away Derby hat prizes to the audience all week leading up to Derby day. In addition, tonight’s episode will feature a special “Piggy Predictors” to forecast Saturday’s winner.

CNBC – On Friday, NBC Sports’ Kentucky Derby host Mike Tirico will speak with CNBC’s Kelly Evans on CNBC’s “The Exchange” (M-F 1PM – 2PM) from Churchill Downs. Additional guests will be announced. Separately, CNBC’s Eric Chemi will break down the current state of horseracing, including how external events are impacting the business of the sport.

GOLF CHANNEL – NBC’s Kentucky Derby host Mike Tirico will join Golf Channel’s Morning Drive tomorrow to preview the field, and discuss his third year covering the Kentucky Derby.

NBC AFFILIATES, OWNED STATIONS AND NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS –  Kentucky Derby promotions will air throughout the week on NBC Affiliates, Owned Stations and NBC Sports Regional networks across the country, with analysis and commentary from NBC Sports’ horse racing team on local newscasts.

NBC SPORTS RADIO – NBC Sports Radio will feature interviews with the on-air Kentucky Derby team throughout the week.

 

–NBC SPORTS–

 

Wednesday, May 1, 2019 at 3 PM ET

Mike Tirico

Randy Moss

Jerry Bailey

Eddie Olczyk

Larry Collmus

Rob Hyland

MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to today’s Kentucky Derby conference call. We have 18 hours of coverage that begins tomorrow on NBCSN which all leads up to the five-hour Kentucky Derby show this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. eastern on NBC.

We’ve also announced some new additions to our Derby team this year, including our Premier League host Rebecca Lowe, our NASCAR and NBC analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Von Miller of the Denver Broncos, the Super Bowl 50 MVP. There’s also many new innovations this year, which we’ll get to shortly.

Joining us on today’s call, Mike Tirico, who hosts his third Kentucky Derby; our analyst Randy Moss and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey who has twice won the Derby; our handicapper Eddie Olczyk, who picked the top three horses in last year’s Derby; our race caller Larry Collmus, and our coordinating producer Rob Hyland.

We’ll start with some opening comments and then we’ll take your questions.

ROB HYLAND: Thanks, Dan. It’s certainly groundhog day; I begin this call every year sort of recapping my connection to this event. 18 years ago, as part of our first Kentucky Derby on NBC, it was a 90-minute show, a handful of reporters, we showed one race, and that was it.

Fast forward to 2019, we’ve got 16 announcers this year, more than 50 cameras, and we’ve got more than 15 hours of coverage. It’s grown quite a bit. As Dan mentioned, this year’s announcing team features some new faces. We’re really excited to welcome Rebecca Lowe as the co-host of this year’s Kentucky Derby. Our analyst and reporter Nick Luck made the trip over from London, England. He is a part of our Royal Ascot and Breeders’ Cup coverage. And I’m really excited to work with Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of NASCAR’s most popular drivers to ever race, and he’s been a part of NASCAR’s biggest event, and we’re really excited to have him be a part of horse racing’s biggest event. And finally, Von Miller, who yesterday described the Derby as being a great combination of culture, fashion and sport, all things he really enjoys. We’re really excited to get his perspective on fashion.

The party is going on around the country, and there’s a giant party happening right here at Churchill Downs. As Dan mentioned, there are a few technical innovations. If there are any questions, I can detail those. But one format note that we’re excited about, I work with Mike Tirico on Football Night in America each Sunday in the fall, and we ended the season in Kansas City at the divisional game between the Colts and the Chiefs, and we began that pregame show outside the stadium around a sea of thousands of people, braving the elements that day. There was a big snowstorm in Kansas City. And it made me think, how can we connect our horse racing announcers to the fans, the atmosphere, the excitement, the energy of the day? So for the first half of the NBC telecast, Mike, Jerry and Randy will be presenting the show from the paddock with that sea of people in the background, and I think it will change the overall energy for the first half of the show.

Eventually they’ll make their way out to turn 1, so they can see the horses making the way from the barn area to the paddock, but really excited about that one format change.

With that, I turn it over to the next speaker. Dan, why don’t you take it away.

MODERATOR: Let’s go to Mike Tirico.

MIKE TIRICO: Thanks, Dan. Hi, everybody. I’ll be brief so you can hear from the horse racing experts here on the call. I do want to say one thing, that Rob at the helm of our coverage, who you just heard from, does an incredible job with organizing our entire team. We are all really proud that our Belmont coverage last year was nominated for an Emmy, and a lot of that work and the work that we do here is because of Rob’s tireless work on this sport.

I’m sitting in front of a huge white board that has probably about 2,000 characters on it with the stories and the run-down theme for the entire show, and it’s a couple of months of ideas and thoughts that culminate in our show, and Rob is the captain of our team, and there’s not a better one to work with.

For me personally, I’m really blessed to be a part of a great month here at our company. We start with this big race and end with another big race, as we’ll be at Indy at the end of the month, the first time NBC presents the Indianapolis 500. You think of two sporting events, one with 175,000 folks here at the Derby, and then one at the end of the month two hours away up I-65 in Indianapolis, where there will be about 300,000 people, two of, if not the two, biggest attended American sports events, and they bracket our month at NBC, and then we go right from there to the start of the Stanley Cup Finals.

It’s an exciting time for us. This is an amazing event. When everybody asks about it, they say, I hear the Derby is fun. And I always like to tell them, well, we think it’s fun. We’re working for five hours on TV, but we’re having a blast doing it.

It’s a great honor to be hosting this show and with this amazing group, and with that, I’ll turn it over to Randy Moss along with Jerry Bailey, our lead analysts on the show.

RANDY MOSS: Hi, it’s Randy. When Mike mentions horse racing experts, I always kind of smile because I have to remind people that the only true experts in horse racing have four legs.

This will be my 39th Kentucky Derby. One thing that hasn’t changed is that it’s the one time of the year when sports fans throughout America who aren’t — who don’t necessarily characterize themselves as horse racing fans — will pay keen attention to the sport. When you meet people and you tell them what you do, that’s obviously the first thing they want to ask about.

The one thing that has changed a lot over the years is that when I first started doing the Kentucky Derby, you had the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and you had the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, but other than that, there were not really any top racehorses that typically ran on this weekend. And now it has developed to the point where the card is just loaded with major stakes races, some of the best horses in America running on the under card on Friday and on Saturday, and we’ll be bringing all those races to you on NBC starting Thursday afternoon and then all of Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon, as well.

So, it’s a lot more than just the Derby for us.

JERRY BAILEY: I’ve come to Churchill Downs in a couple of different ways over the years. For 17 or 18 years I rode in the Kentucky Derby, and I always came here with optimism, but the reality was I knew that I probably wasn’t going to win. Out of 20 horses, there’s going to be 19 losers, and it’s such a hard race to win that you don’t get your hopes up. And sometimes it’s fun and sometimes it’s not.

But now as a broadcaster, and this is my 13th year coming to the Kentucky Derby behind the microphone, it’s always fun. It’s a lot of work, but I always end up at the end of the Kentucky Derby week having a great time and feeling like a winner.

In the years prior to this, we’ve had a lot of favorites. Coming off a year last year with the dominant Justify, and he was clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the field, and this year I think there’s a lot more parity. I can pick six, seven, maybe even eight horses that wouldn’t surprise me if they won. So it’s a deep and competitive field this year. It looks like we might get rain again, but in any event, there’s a lot of names in this race that could win.

LARRY COLLMUS: Thanks, Jerry. I’ve been calling the Derby now, this will be the ninth time for NBC Sports. It’s hard to believe that it’s been that long. But I’ve also been calling races in general for more than 34 years and more than 50,000 races, and there’s absolutely nothing in the world like calling the Kentucky Derby. It is absolutely the race. The thrill of 20 horses standing in the starting gate and you’re looking at them through your binoculars with sweaty palms in complete anticipation, there’s just no other feeling.

This year I think it’s really interesting, as Jerry alluded to, there’s really no standout favorite in the race. You have a lot of horses with a similar running that like to sit near the pace in the race. You’ve got Bob Baffert bringing three horses in here after winning the Triple Crown last year with Justify, looking for a sixth Kentucky Derby. There’s so many different angles to this year’s race, and you even have a horse from Japan coming in, which is pretty exciting, too, in Master Fencer.

But when they turn for home and it’s muddy and you’re looking at this group of horses with the jockey silks completely covered in mud and it’s your job to tell people who they are coming down the stretch, it is a bit of a daunting task, but it’s extremely exciting, and I wouldn’t want to switch with anybody. So I’m definitely looking forward to calling my ninth Derby on Saturday. Here’s Eddie Olczyk.

EDDIE OLCZYK: Larry, thank you very much. This will be my fifth Derby working with the best people and the best horse racing team there is. I always get super excited right around this time of year, but there is obviously a lot of prep work that goes on for everybody on this call and everybody on our team.

For me, still making my way through the NHL Playoffs on NBC and NBCSN family of networks, and that was for the last couple of weeks. I get the opportunity to jump off and handicap horses, which I would do whether I was here or not, full disclosure. And Jerry and Randy touched on it a tad; the depth of this field I would agree with Jerry 1,000 percent, that could make a case — depending on what happens with the weather on Saturday, you could make a case for six, seven, eight horses to win the Run For the Roses on Saturday.

So as a handicapper, I’ve got to have my sights on a couple of horses with a fast track, but I also have to have a game plan, and that’s what makes our team and our crew so great is that maybe the track is playing a certain way over the course of the two days, Friday, Saturday, with the Oaks and then of course Derby day. So I might have to have two sets of picks depending on if it’s a fast or off track.

That’s not out of the norm, but it is outside the box when you think about all of the different races that we are doing. So the work becomes, from at least just selfishly from my point of view, it becomes even deeper, and when you’re trying to make money for people – and thank you, Dan, for reminding everybody of how lucky I got last year – and I’ve had people remind me, don’t screw it up this year, make sure you get all three in the top three again, but that’s what makes this so challenging. I pick horses that are still running and sometimes you get lucky.

But I think that’s what makes it so unique is the pressure for these horses, the crowd, the excitement, the energy to be able to try to figure out who’s going to cross that wire first, and there are a lot of hurdles you have to try to overcome when you’re handicapping a 20-horse field with three-year-olds that have never been this distance before, and a lot of them will probably never travel this distance again.

It is great to be back, and I am doing some hockey prep work on my nights trying to dissect the racing form and also keep an eye on the NHL Playoffs, which are absolutely heating up.

And one last thing is Mike Tirico had said a couple hundred miles apart, the Indy 500 and the Kentucky Derby, if anybody needs a place to stay, you can stay with my father-in-law in Columbus, Indiana, which is pretty much halfway in between Indy and Louisville. I’m sure Thomas Vickers wouldn’t mind a few people shacking up at his house in Columbus, Indiana.

Q. Mike, just wondering if you knew Jerry and Randy while they were at ESPN and just working with them for the past couple years, what is it like kind of having them bring you up to speed on everything?
MIKE TIRICO: I did know them just a little bit but never worked with them. I really was never around them that much but knew that everyone who worked on our Triple Crown shows there had the highest praise. There was a producer that I worked with named Mike McQuade, who also worked on horse racing. He worked with me on the golf and tennis coverage, and Mike spoke so highly of Randy and Jerry, and everything that everyone has said about them is true. They finish each other’s sentences and thoughts. They are not afraid to disagree with each other. They are very great about welcoming any of us who have come to the team new over the last few years, so any questions or introducing us to the people in the sport who they’ve made friends with over the years, and it’s the greatest comfort for a host to be able to sit there and look to either your left or right, depending on the set, and know that there’s nothing you can ask those guys that they are not ready to answer. And they do it on a regular basis, and that allows me to be maybe representative of the fan who’s sitting and watching and might just have a casual question. I can throw it to them at any time, and they’ve got the answer. It’s a pleasure to work with pros like these two guys. And that’s exactly what they told me to say if asked that question.

Q. Rob, go ahead and detail a couple of those technical innovations that you mentioned there for this year.
ROB HYLAND: Sure. To begin, we’ve added a super slow-motion camera on the finish line pole of the main track, the Kentucky Derby finish. That camera can then pan around and document the finish on the wire for all turf races, as well. It’s a more intimate look than our typical super slo-mo profile finish, but it will definitely adjudicate a finish as a 6x super motion camera. It’s a Fletcher camera. And we’re really excited about having another look at the finish of all of these major races, as Randy documented, over the next few days.

Something a little more fun, we’ve introduced a 360-degree glam cam for our red carpet that Dylan Dreyer and Von Miller will host, allowing fans and celebrities to step inside this device and have their outfit and selection for this year’s Derby documented in this dramatic 360-degree camera environment, and it gets pushed automatically to their social media handles within seconds. You may see that technology frequently on awards shows like the Academy Awards.

And more than anything, this day and this event is so much bigger than just the 150,000 celebrating here at Churchill Downs. All around the country there are Kentucky Derby parties taking place, and we thought this year, we should welcome in some of those parties and check in on them. So we’ll have four live remotes active all day long, one happening in Las Vegas at a Kentucky Derby party, another one happening in Denver, Colorado, one happening at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and a fourth party in New York City, just to showcase that this day is so much bigger than just here at Churchill Downs, just here in Louisville. It is a nationwide party. We’re going to welcome in those inbound feeds.

Those are a few of the enhancements that we’re excited about. I mentioned the paddock set, and the fact that we’re actually moving Mike, Jerry and Randy on a very complicated day, 30 segments, 16 announcers, 50 cameras, and going to try moving them through the sea of people in the middle of the show. So fingers crossed that all goes well. But those are just a few of them.

Q. It was just a couple days after the Belmont last year that New Jersey legalized sports gambling. I’m just curious from a production standpoint, obviously the odds and betting have always been a huge part of this telecast, but when you’re in the truck, are you guys going to be leaning in any more? I know you’re doing a special digital companion show to the side, but from your perspective how does that change things?
ROB HYLAND: Yeah, one of the takeaways I had from watching last year’s Derby show on NBC is that I don’t think we give Eddie Olczyk enough time to really explain his selections and why he’s making those selections. So we really want to give Eddie more time throughout the entire day to educate, entertain and inform the casual viewer on what goes into his decision making and give some more time to the betting in our show to have a few back-and-forths between Mike, Jerry and Randy. And then so that Edzo is not on an island, before the race for a minute, we’re going to have some dialogue that hopefully invites and engages a casual audience at home.

Q. Jerry said there’s six to eight horses that wouldn’t surprise you. Can you say who you like? And who are your top three?
JERRY BAILEY: Obviously Omaha Beach will be one of the favorites. He just beat Game Winner, so Game Winner will be up there, as well. Roadster and Improbable, two of the other three Baffert horses. Win Win Win wouldn’t shock me, and Tacitus would be probably a pretty good chance, as well as Maximum Security. I think that’s — is that eight?

EDDIE OLCZYK: Listen, I would add Code of Honor, regardless of track conditions, meaning whether it’s fast or the track is off a bit. I would certainly add Code of Honor in my top three regardless of the track condition, and I’m right around with Jerry with the other horses, as well.

RANDY MOSS: I can also add Vekoma in there, as well, since I’m not sure how fast the pace is going to be. I think he could control the pace conceivably.

JERRY BAILEY: So that’s nine right there. That’s how wide open it is.

Q. Eddie, last year was impressive. What’s your trifecta this year?
EDDIE OLCZYK: I don’t want to take the Fifth right now, but I think I have to because I have no idea where we’re going to be as far as the weather, so I’m going to wait for, again, my opportunity for five minutes with Dylan Dreyer to see what the forecast will be. So that’s why you have to tune in about 30 minutes prior to the post of the Kentucky Derby at 6:52 eastern on Saturday night on NBC. I might change probably 10 different times, but we’re going to try to do what we did last year.

JERRY BAILEY: To Eddie’s point, the track conditions, regardless of what they are, there could be biases and patterns that become evident through the day, which Eddie will be watching, Randy and I will be watching, so it could be very speedy, the inside could be better than the outside. We don’t know until we get through that day.

Q. Who in this field has won in the mud? And then I guess the second part is who is really bred for it, like really a freak in the mud?
EDDIE OLCZYK: Well, the favorite, Omaha Beach, has proven — I think he moves way up on an off track. I would say in my opinion, I think Omaha Beach is this year’s version of Exaggerator, where if you remember Exaggerator a couple of years ago really moved up a lot and really enjoyed and relished the off track. I would compare Omaha Beach to Exaggerator when it comes to running on an off track. I think if it’s an off track, I would be really, really surprised if he did not win if the track comes up sloppy or muddy on Saturday.

RANDY MOSS: And War Of Will, Maximum and Cutting Humor have also won on racetracks that were sloppy or muddy.

Q. This question is for Mike Tirico. Mike, as you sit in that chair on Saturday, how much will any memories of the great Bob Costas, the studio phenom who had been so associated with the Kentucky Derby all these years, and even Tom Hammond, who had thoroughbred racing in his blood?
MIKE TIRICO: If you don’t mind me adding a third to that, Jim McKay, as well. One of the great thrills for me working at ABC back in the ’90s when I got started was to cover the British Open golf with Jim, and some of our conversations certainly included all the times he spent hosting the Triple Crown races.

Tom and I spent a good time two years ago in South Korea at the Olympics, the Winter Games, talking about what horse racing means and what this day means to the state and to the sport, and doing this with Bob over the last couple years is the same to add to the conversation. Bob has been a friend and a mentor for a long time and has always been someone who I’ve looked up to personally and professionally. So all three of those folks have put this in an incredible column of an honor to be one of the people in the chair hosting the Kentucky Derby, and I just hope to continue the great work that they’ve done on this event over the years.

And I think it means a lot to me because as a kid growing up watching Wide World of Sports, I remember watching the Kentucky Derby. It was one of those, wow, that’s really something, and for a kid growing up in New York, not around horse racing as much as I would have been if I was here in Kentucky, it resonated with me then and still resonates with me now.

I don’t take that lightly, and I take that legacy very close to heart as we go out there on Saturday.

Dial 334-323-0522 to Participate

145th “Run for the Roses” Saturday, May 4, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 1, 2019 – NBC Sports Group’s Kentucky Derby team will preview coverage of the 145th Kentucky Derby on a media conference call today, Wednesday, May 1, at 3 p.m. ET.

Participants include Mike Tirico, in his third Triple Crown assignment; analysts Randy Moss and Jerry Bailey, the Hall of Fame jockey and two-time Kentucky Derby winner; analyst/handicapper Eddie Olczyk; race caller Larry Collmus; and coordinating producer of NBC’s horse racing coverage Rob Hyland.

Dial 334-323-0522 to participate; conference call ID 9167127.

NBC Sports Group’s Kentucky Derby Week coverage begins tomorrow, Thursday, May 2, at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, and culminates with the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Saturday’s coverage begins at Noon ET on NBCSN. Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group’s Kentucky Derby programming.

Kentucky Derby Post Positions

 

Gate	Horse	Morning-Line Odds
1	War of Will	20-1
2	Tax	20-1
3	By My Standards	20-1
4	Gray Magician	50-1
5	Improbable	6-1
6	Vekoma	20-1
7	Maximum Security	10-1
8	Tacitus	10-1
9	Plus Que Parfait	30-1
10	Cutting Humor	30-1
11	Haikal	30-1
12	Omaha Beach	4-1
13	Code of Honor	15-1
14	Win Win Win	15-1
15	Master Fencer	50-1
16	Game Winner	5-1
17	Roadster	6-1
18	Long Range Toddy	30-1
19	Spinoff	30-1
20	Country House	30-1

 

 

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–

Dial 334-323-0522 to Participate

145th “Run for the Roses” Saturday, May 4, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 30, 2019 – NBC Sports Group’s Kentucky Derby team will preview coverage of the 145th Kentucky Derby on a media conference call tomorrow, Wednesday, May 1, at 3 p.m. ET.

Participants include Mike Tirico, in his third Triple Crown assignment; analysts Randy Moss and Jerry Bailey, the Hall of Fame jockey and two-time Kentucky Derby winner; analyst/handicapper Eddie Olczyk; race caller Larry Collmus; and coordinating producer of NBC’s horse racing coverage Rob Hyland.

Dial 334-323-0522 to participate; conference call ID 9167127.

NBC Sports Group’s Kentucky Derby Week coverage begins this Thursday, May 2, at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, and culminates with the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Saturday’s coverage begins at Noon ET on NBCSN. Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group’s Kentucky Derby programming.

Kentucky Derby Post Positions

 

Gate	Horse	Morning-Line Odds
1	War of Will	20-1
2	Tax	20-1
3	By My Standards	20-1
4	Gray Magician	50-1
5	Improbable	6-1
6	Vekoma	20-1
7	Maximum Security	10-1
8	Tacitus	10-1
9	Plus Que Parfait	30-1
10	Cutting Humor	30-1
11	Haikal	30-1
12	Omaha Beach	4-1
13	Code of Honor	15-1
14	Win Win Win	15-1
15	Master Fencer	50-1
16	Game Winner	5-1
17	Roadster	6-1
18	Long Range Toddy	30-1
19	Spinoff	30-1
20	Country House	30-1

 

 

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–