Kentucky Derby handle, viewership down more than 50 percent
Is the Kentucky Derby the Kentucky Derby if it is run four months after the first Saturday in May? Handle and viewership numbers would say no.
Matt HegartySep 07, 2020
Is the Kentucky Derby the Kentucky Derby if it is run four months after the first Saturday in May? Handle and viewership numbers would say no.
Authentic was the third Derby winner for Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez and his first with Ron Anderson as his agent. Velazquez, who previously won with Animal Kingdom (2011) and Always Dreaming (2017), donated a portion of his earnings to fellow rider Vinnie Bednar, who suffered lower-limb paralysis in an Aug. 22 spill at Los Alamitos.
Even though Churchill Downs on Saturday was closed to spectators and all but a select few as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the calls for racial justice that have gripped Louisville for more than three months were visible before, during, and after the Kentucky Derby.
The Kentucky Derby broadcast on NBC-TV on Saturday peaked at 9.8 million viewers, a steep fall from the viewership for last year’s broadcast when the race was held in May.
Bob Baffert, who on Saturday tied the legendary Ben A. Jones for the all-time record for most wins (six) by a Kentucky Derby trainer when Authentic triumphed under John Velazquez, made a morning-after appearance at his Barn 33 in front of just a handful of media – as opposed to the usual swarm that congregates in non-coronavirus years.
Leave it to the year of the coronavirus to give a surreal ending to the Kentucky Derby. Authentic won the 146th running of the fabled Run for the Roses on Saturday at spectator-free Churchill Downs, giving Bob Baffert a record-tying sixth victory in America’s greatest horse race while leaving the Hall of Fame trainer choking back tears.
Total handle on a Kentucky Derby run four months after the first Saturday of May dropped just more than 50 percent this year, underlining the importance of the race’s longtime spot on the calendar.
Lightning did not strike twice for the Sackatoga Stable crew, as they watched their Belmont and Travers winner Tiz the Law come up just short in the 146th Kentucky Derby.
Winning payouts on the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, 2020.
About three hours before the 2020 Kentucky Derby was run, Sittin On Go announced himself as the first arrival on the road to the 2021 Kentucky Derby. The colt remained unbeaten in his short career by springing a $50 upset in the Grade 3, $200,000 Iroquois Stakes on Saturday at Churchill Downs, the first points-scoring race toward next year's Derby.