A wet and muddy track didn’t deter bettors seeking action on this year’s Kentucky Derby.
For the fourth year in a row, bettors put down record amounts on the first leg of the industry’s triple crown. Furthermore, the television ratings were the highest in more than three decades.
Bettors flocked to the “fastest two minutes in sports,” wagering a record-setting $349 million from all sources on the entire Kentucky Derby Day program. Those figures top last year’s record, where horse bettors generated a handle of $320.5 million.
The slate’s main event also posted a new record, with gamblers betting $234.4 million from all possible platforms. That bests last year’s record of $210.7 million. All-sources handle for Derby Week set a record of $473.9 million, beating last year’s $446.6 million.
TwinSpires, the official betting partner of the race, saw a record handle of $108 million on Churchill races for the entire day’s program. That’s up from last year’s previous record of $92.1 million.
For the Derby, the horse racing betting platform saw a new record of $73 million, beating a record of $60.9 million from 2024.
Sovereignty, ridden by Junior Alvarado, won by a length and a half and paid off at 7-to-1 odds in the 151st race at Churchill Downs on Saturday. The win secured the horse’s owners $3.1 million of the $5 million purse. Journalism had been a 3-to-1 favorite entering the race, but finished in second position with Baeza taking third.
“We congratulate the connections of Sovereignty on an impressive win over a very talented field of horses,” Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said. “We are thrilled with our performance following the 150th milestone year in 2024 and we will grow the Kentucky Derby in the years to come.”
Americans’ interest in sports betting appears to have played a major role in the growing numbers.
TV Ratings Boom
According to NBC, the race portion of the broadcast averaged 17.7 million viewers across all of the company’s platforms. It’s the highest viewership since 1986. Other than the network’s summer Olympics coverage last year, this was the largest audience for a Saturday program since an NFL playoff game in 2024.
Viewership of the event peaked at 21.8 million viewers, the largest ever for an NBC Sports Derby broadcast – up 8% from last year.
Streaming also produced another record for a horse racing event, reaching 959,000 viewers. That’s a 34% increase from last year’s 714,000 and nearly triple 2023’s 371,000 viewers.
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