Kentucky Derby: 2024 date, time, location, how to watch, purse, horses

The Kentucky Derby is considered one of the most prestigious horse races in the world and has long been marketed as 'the greatest two minutes in sports'.

The race is a Grade 1 contest for three-year-olds run over 1m 2f on dirt and represents the first leg of the United States’ Triple Crown in racing, with the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes completing the treble.

The contest is also referred to as 'The Run for the Roses' as the champion is draped in a blanket of 554 roses and its cultural impact in America is massive, in no small part due to the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival which precedes the feature race.

The 2024 Kentucky Derby will mark the 150th running of the world-renowned race and we have you covered with all you need to know about the Churchill Downs showpiece.

2024 Kentucky Derby date

The 2024 Kentucky Derby will be run on Saturday, May 4.

2024 Kentucky Derby start time

The 2024 Kentucky Derby is scheduled to start at 6:57 PM ET.

2024 Kentucky Derby location and venue

The 2024 Kentucky Derby, as always, will be raced at Churchill Downs racecourse in Louisville, Kentucky.

How to watch the 2024 Kentucky Derby, TV channel and streaming

NBC and Peacock hold the broadcasting rights for the 2024 Kentucky Derby, with coverage starting at 2:30 PM ET.

2024 Kentucky Derby purse

It was announced earlier in the year that the purse for the 2024 Kentucky Derby would be an all-time high $5million, up from the $3million which had stood from 2019 onwards.

The winner will receive $3.1million, with $1million for the runner-up, $500,000 for third, $250,000 for fourth and $150,000 for fifth.

Kentucky Derby history

With the race being run annually since 1875, it is a contest steeped in history. The first winner Aristides over 1m 4f, the distance of the first 21 runnings before the switch to 1m 2f was made.

The iconic Secretariat holds the record for fastest ever time, winning the race in 1973 with a time of just 1:59.4, while three horses have won the race in their debut season (without competing as a two-year-old), namely Apollo (1882), Justify (2018) and last year’s winner Mage.

Ben Jones and Bob Baffert have both trained six winners of the Kentucky Derby, with the latter’s most recent triumph coming in 2020, while Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack are the joint-most successful jockeys having each ridden winners of the contest five times.

The Kentucky Oaks has been held the day before the Derby since the 1950s and following that change there have been six occasions where either a jockey, trainer or owner has completed the Oaks/Derby double at Churchill Downs.

As the first leg of the Triple Crown, this race holds great status and only a select few horses have completed the feat of landing the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.

Sir Barton was the first to do so back in 1919, with Justify being the most recent Triple Crown champion in 2018.

The Run for the Roses can throw up some big shocks too, with 1913 winner Donerail holding the record in that aspect at 91/1, with 2022 champion Rich Strike a close second having won at 80/1.

2024 Kentucky Derby horses

Below is the list of horses running in the 150th Kentucky Derby, along with their post position.

1. Dornoch
2. Sierra Leone
3. Mystik Dan
4. Catching Freedom
5. Catalytic
6. Just Steel
7. Honor Marie
8. Just a Touch
9. Encino
10. T O Password
11. Forever Young
12. Track Phantom
13. West Saratoga
14. Endlessly
15. Domestic Product
16. Grand Mo the First
17. Fierceness
18. Stronghold
19. Resilience
20. Society Man