Kentucky Derby 2024 draws race's largest audience since 1989 as finish sets peak record

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The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby drew the largest audience the race has seen since 1989. The average viewership for NBC's broadcast was 16.7 million, up 13% from last year's 14.8 million.

At 18-1 odds, Mystik Dan edged Sierra Leone and Forever Young to win the Run for the Roses in a three-horse photo finish.

Broadcast viewership peaked at 20.1 million from 7 to 7:15 p.m., the largest peak audience ever for the Derby on NBC.

According to NBC Sports, Saturday's audience was the largest for the Kentucky Derby since 18.5 million watched Sunday Silence win in 1989 on ABC.

Derby 150 also posted the largest streaming audience for a horse racing event on NBC. This year's average minute audience of 714,000 viewers was up from 371,000 in 2023.

Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.