Sovereignty's win in Saturday's Kentucky Derby averaged 17.7 million fans on NBC and Peacock, the largest audience for the Run for the Roses since 1989 and the biggest since NBC took over the rights in 2001.

Saturday’s live coverage of the 151st Kentucky Derby delivered its largest audience for NBC since 1989 with an average of 17.7 million viewers. Viewership of the race peaked at 21.8 million viewers, a record for NBC.

Fans just tuning into the 2025 Kentucky Derby may be wondering where lead host Mike Tirico is on the NBC broadcast. Fans who have been watching all the action at Churchill Downs on Saturday could already tell something was off.