STAMFORD, Conn. — The Kentucky Derby will remain on NBC through 2032 after the network and Churchill Downs Inc. extended their contract through 2032, announcing it hours before the running of the 150th race on Saturday.
The race switched to NBC in 2001 after airing on ABC from 1975-2000 and CBS from 1952-1974. The multi-year extension will make NBC the longest-running home of the race for 3-year-old horses.
The deal includes multi-platform rights to the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks, and Derby and Oaks day programming, which will be presented on NBC, Peacock, USA Network and additional NBCU platforms.
Meanwhile, a new paddock for the horses opened at Churchill Downs just in time for the 150th Kentucky Derby.
Some fans will have a closer view than others in the track’s new $200 million paddock that offers a clear vista of the Twin Spires from inside and allows spectators to observe horses from several levels of a stadium-like layout as they parade around a circle before heading to the track.
“The Twin Spires are back in focus, and that’s very important to us,” Churchill Downs spokesman Darren Rogers said. “The Twin Spires say Churchill Downs.”
The new design offers hints of a horseshoe all around, from the giant video tote boards on opposite ends atop the walls to the circular path in front of the stalls.
Compared to the former square layout where spectators outside the gates huddled 10 deep over each other while celebrities and owners rubbed elbows inside, the new paddock features 20 covered stalls in front of the path beneath several viewing levels.