Kentucky Derby 149 viewership broke records

With the nightmare of seven horses that were killed last weekend and a couple of key horses who were scratched, Derby 149 pulled in its highest streaming ratings. Over 14 million people tuned in to watch the race, as well as watch Mage win his first Kentucky Derby.

The TV-only average audience of 14.4 million viewers is NBC’s most-watched program since the NFL Playoffs in January. Led by Peacock, the Derby recorded an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 371,000 viewers across NBCUniversal streaming platforms, which was up 50% from last year (247,000)

Mage pulled off the upset and put himself in the record books with Big Brown, Regret (2015) and Justify (2018) as the only horses to win the Derby after making just three previous starts. With the win, a lot of people are looking forward with seeing what Mage could potentially do in the Preakness. I wouldn't say he is the favorite, but he maybe a horse to watch out for.