Golden Tempo's victory in Kentucky Derby most-viewed on record, averaging 19.6 million
AP News • • sports
Key Points:
- Golden Tempo's win in the 152nd Kentucky Derby drew an average audience of 19.6 million on NBC and Peacock, marking the highest viewership since Nielsen began tracking in 1988.
- The peak audience reached 24.4 million during the race, which started at 7:03 p.m. EDT, with jockey Jose Ortiz rallying Golden Tempo from 12th place to win by a neck.
- Trainer Cherie DeVaux made history as the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner.
- The 2026 Derby viewership increased by 11% compared to last year, partly due to Nielsen’s updated Big Data + Panel methodology for counting viewers.
- Streaming on Peacock saw a 36% rise to 1.3 million viewers, and the Kentucky Oaks race on Friday night averaged 2.4 million viewers in its first primetime network broadcast.
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