FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 9th, 2019
THREE WEEKS TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: THE ARKANSAS DERBY, FINAL MAJOR DERBY PREP, THIS SAT., APRIL 13 AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Final Episode of Road to the Kentucky Derby Magazine Series Debuts Next Saturday, April 20, at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, Featuring Elliott Walden from Triple Crown Winner Justify’s Ownership Group & a Tribute to John Asher
STAMFORD, Conn. – April 9, 2019 – With just three weeks until the running of the 145th Kentucky Derby, NBC Sports culminates its coverage of Derby prep races this Saturday, April 13 on NBCSN, with live coverage of the Arkansas Derby beginning at 7 p.m. ET from Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The race awards qualifying points on a 100-40-20-10 scale for the top four finishers, all hoping to secure a spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby, Saturday, May 4 on NBC.
Three winners of the $1 million Grade 1 Arkansas Derby have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, including Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in 2015. Omaha Beach and Long Range Toddy, winners of each division of Oaklawn’s Rebel Stakes in March, are among the headliners of the field, joined by Galilean and the Bob Baffert-trained Improbable.
Ahmed Fareed hosts Saturday’s Arkansas Derby coverage on NBCSN, alongside analysts Jerry Bailey, the Hall of Fame jockey who won the Arkansas Derby twice, and Randy Moss. Coverage will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs.
NBC Sports, in partnership with Churchill Downs, presents a new episode of the Road to the Kentucky Derby series next Saturday, April 20, at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The final 30-minute episode features an interview with Elliott Walden, President and CEO of WinStar Farm, the majority owner of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. The episode also features a tribute to the life and legacy of John Asher, who was known as the ultimate Kentucky Derby Ambassador for Churchill Downs. Produced by Churchill Downs, the episodes provide viewers with an inside look at the extensive preparations for the first leg of the Triple Crown.
NBC SPORTS GROUP AND HORSE RACING: NBC Sports Group is the exclusive home to the most important and prestigious events in horse racing, including the Triple Crown, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Royal Ascot, and Pegasus World Cup Invitational Series. NBC has been the exclusive home of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes since 2001, and the Belmont Stakes since 2011, when NBC Sports Group reassembled the Triple Crown.
–NBC SPORTS–
