I used to look forward to the Derby card thinking about the countless opportunities that awaited on a program filled with “tourist” money. The influx of wagers from part-time bettors and those who played just once or twice a year helped fill the pools with potential payouts that wouldn’t appear on your average race card. However, this year my sense of anticipation was tempered by the fact that I did not have the time to explore the card the way I wanted to, and instead of attacking the day at Churchill with two fists I remained tentative.

Pick your spots!

The final rating for the Kentucky Derby broadcast on NBC on Saturday was a 9.0, according to the network, down 6.3 percent from the 9.6 final rating for the broadcast last year.

The rating for the Derby dipped despite the surge in media coverage last year surrounding the post-Derby campaign of American Pharoah, who became the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years when he went on to win the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – It was not a particularly strong showing for the East Coast-based runners in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.

Mohaymen, the Holy Bull and Fountain of Youth winner who also won a pair of graded stakes at Aqueduct last fall, had the best showing with a fourth-place finish after a slow break.

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Mohaymen would not run in either the Preakness or the Belmont, but instead will have the Travers on Aug. 27 as his next major goal, with a possible start in the Jim Dandy on July 30.

Nyquist, the Kentucky Derby winner and 2015 champion juvenile male, could have been had by anyone willing to be the highest bidder on three separate occasions.

Uncle Mo was already the hottest young sire on the planet before the first Saturday in May, but just how much hotter will he get after Nyquist’s victory in the 142nd Kentucky Derby? Does any doubt remain that Uncle Mo is the real deal?

One of the biggest winners of the Kentucky Derby and Oaks weekend didn’t run a horse in either of the marquee races.

Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum’s Darley America picked up another big win for its stallion roster Friday when Cathryn Sophia, a daughter of Street Boss, drew away to win the Kentucky Oaks. The following day, future Darley resident Nyquist took home the roses as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby.

Nyquist was an unbeaten juvenile champion, just like his sire, and was made the morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby, just like his sire. The question was, could he go the classic distance, something his sire had never done?

The answer was a resounding yes. Nyquist remained undefeated in eight starts with an emphatic victory in the Kentucky Derby last Saturday at Churchill Downs, giving the outstanding young sire Uncle Mo a classic winner from his first crop.

The race portion of a three-plus-hour broadcast of the Kentucky Derby on NBC Saturday posted a 9.3 overnight rating, according to the television network, down 14 percent compared with the overnight rating for the same portion of the broadcast last year.

The broadcast, which ran a half-hour beyond its slotted broadcast window because of a long delay in getting horses to the starting gate, had a 21 share, down 12.5 percent from the share last year. Share measures the percentage of televisions in use that are tuned to a broadcast.

Consider these finish positions in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby:

Third, beaten 4 1/2 lengths (was fifth a half-stride past the wire).

10th, beaten 14 1/2 lengths.

12th, beaten 17 lengths.

14th, beaten 18 1/2 lengths.

15th, beaten 20 lengths.

19th, beaten 37 1/4 lengths.

Eased.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When it comes to winning the Kentucky Derby, trainer Doug O'Neill, owner Paul Reddam, and jockey Mario Gutierrez said they'll have another.

Four years after teaming to win with the longshot I'll Have Another, they won the 142nd Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs with Nyquist, who remained unbeaten after eight starts and put his name alongside Seattle Slew as the only horses to have won their divisional championship at age 2 and remained unbeaten through a victory in the Kentucky Derby.