Kentucky Derby gets highest TV ratings in 18 years
NEW YORK (AP) -The Kentucky Derby's television ratings are the highest in 18 years.
NBC says Saturday's coverage of Calvin Borel riding Super Saver to victory for the third time in four years drew a 10.3 overnight rating and a 23 share. That's up 1 percent from last year's 10.2/22, when 16.3 million viewers made 50-1 shot Mine That Bird's win the most-watched Derby in 20 years.
It's also an increase of seven percent from 9.5/21 in 2008 when Big Brown won.
It's the highest overnight rating since Lil E Tee won in 1992.
The rating is the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program, while the share is the percentage of all TVs in use at the time. Overnight ratings measure the nation's largest markets.
Final viewership and national ratings will be announced Tuesday.
HORSE headlines
- No lie: Pants On Fire on AP's Top 10 Derby list
- Santa Anita goes back to 4-day race week
- Repreive wins the Aqueduct feature
- Road to The Kentucky Derby
- Worth Repeating wins Tokyo City Cup at Santa Anita
- Animal Kingdom surges to win in Spiral Stakes
- Pants On Fire takes Louisiana Derby
- R Betty Graybull wins the Big A's Ladies Handicap
- Japan's Victoire Pisa wins Dubai World Cup
- Rewilding wins $5 million Dubai Sheema Classic
- Presvis wins $5 million Dubai Duty Free
- Khawlah wins $2 million UAE Derby
- Kinsale King out of Dubai Golden Shaheen
- Purrfect Bluff wins Big A feature
- Trainer Bob Baffert out of Dubai's big horse race
- Sweet Ducky may run in Kentucky Derby
- Calle Vista wins Santa Anita feature
- Devilish Spirit wins Big A feature
- World's richest race has wide-open 14-horse field
- No clear favorite at Dubai World Cup
- Dubai World Cup offers relief for Japan
- Buena Vista heads Japan challenge at World Cup
- Who's the Cowboy wins the Big A feature
- Gio Ponti among 14 horses entered for World Cup
- Village People's Derby choice: Mucho Macho Man
- Juniper Pass takes San Luis Rey at Santa Anita
- Prince Dubai wins Big A feature
- Road to The Kentucky Derby
- Malibu Pier, Bejarano win Santa Ana at Santa Anita
- The Factor easily wins Derby prep Rebel Stakes
