Churchill Downs officials announced late Friday that a future wager on the 2014 Kentucky Derby will be offered at the end of November, by far the earliest such parimutuel futures have been offered since first being made available in 1999.
The points system introduced last year to determine eligibility for the 2013 Kentucky Derby will remain mostly the same for the 2014 Derby, Churchill Downs announced Friday.
Falling Sky, who finished last in the Kentucky Derby, had surgery to remove a chip out of his left front ankle, trainer John Terranova said Wednesday.
The race portion of the Kentucky Derby broadcast on NBC on Saturday drew a final rating of 9.7 with a 21 share, up 8 percent from the rating last year and translating to approximately 16.2 million viewers, NBC said on Tuesday.
Overnight ratings for the Saturday Kentucky Derby broadcast on NBC skyrocketed this year while betting and attendance figures for the race suffered in comparison with last year’s record-setting event because of poor weather at the Louisville, Ky., track.
How the 139th Kentucky Derby unfolded from start to finish Saturday, May 4, at Churchill Downs.
Orb’s stretch-running victory in the 139th Kentucky Derby was not only trainer Shug McGaughey’s first success in the race, but also a vindication of a philosophy that today seems almost quaint.
The overnight rating for the last hour of the Kentucky Derby broadcast on NBC on Saturday was up 16 percent compared with the overnight rating for the same portion of the telecast last year, NBC Sports said on Sunday.
As for those horses that trailed Orb in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, they had differing degrees of luck and misfortune. Here’s a look at the most notable ones,
Orb, the emphatic winner of the 139th edition of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, became the first classic winner for his sire, 16-year-old Spendthrift Farm stallion Malibu Moon, and adds even more glow to the luster of A.P. Indy, whose influence on the contemporary Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry continues to grow.
