Virtual Kentucky Derby at Home Party: Date, start time, TV, how to watch, live stream

By Apr 27, 2020, 6:00 PM EDT
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On May 2, Churchill Downs will empty on the first Saturday in May for the first time since 1945. The 146th Kentucky Derby has been moved from May 2 to Saturday, September 5 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the party will still go on—with a virtual Kentucky Derby at home.

Stay healthy at home on May 2 for a virtual Kentucky Derby at Home Party with NBC Sports’ Derby Party Pack, featuring recipes for traditional Kentucky Derby foods and cocktails, printable decorations, at-home fashion tips, kids crafts and more.

Click here to download NBC Sports’ Derby Party Pack

Fans can stay healthy at home as NBC Sports and Churchill Downs partner for a virtual Kentucky Derby at Home Party, which includes The First Saturday In May: American Pharoah’s Run to the Triple Crown, a look back at American Pharoah’s 2015 Derby win en route to his historic Triple Crown, and The Kentucky Derby: Triple Crown Showdown, a socially distant, computer-simulated edition of the Run for the Roses that pits all 13 Triple Crown winners against each other.

On May 2, during what would normally be Derby Day, tune into NBC from 3-6 p.m. ET to watch both The First Saturday In May: American Pharoah’s Run to the Triple Crown and The Kentucky Derby: Triple Crown Showdown. The broadcast can also be streamed on NBCSports.com and on the NBC Sports app.

Click here to stream The First Saturday In May on NBC

Take the party online using #KYDerbyAtHome on social media, making your virtual Kentucky Derby pick and joining Churchill Downs in donating to COVID-19 relief efforts. Everyone who correctly picks the winner will be entered to win the ultimate Kentucky Derby 146 VIP experience. In addition, follow @NBCSports on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for live looks around Churchill Downs and content from at-home parties across the country.

“Churchill Downs has pledged to match up to $1 million of donations with funds to be directed to the Team Kentucky Fund and Direct Relief,” Churchill Downs announced. “A small percentage will be earmarked for the R.E.I.N. Fund (Relief for Equine Industry Needs), a program managed by Churchill Downs Foundation designed to benefit workers of the backside whose livelihood has been impacted by COVID-19 and also to help ensure essential care for horses throughout the pandemic.”

After the broadcast, tune into NBCSN at 6 p.m. for the Arkansas Derby, one of the major Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying races. This year, the race will be split between two divisions, with 170 qualifying points on the line in each division. Bob Baffert, American Pharoah’s Hall of Fame trainer, fields Charlatan in the first division and Nadal in the second. Storm the Court, who stormed his way to a 45-1 upset in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall, will also race in the second division.

Watch ‘The First Saturday In May’ on Saturday, May 2 from 3-6 p.m. ET on NBC, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

Forte works out, waits for Belmont Stakes clearance

Associated PressMay 27, 2023, 3:14 PM EDT
Matt Stone/USA TODAY NETWORK
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NEW YORK — Forte, the early Kentucky Derby favorite who was scratched on the day of the race, worked out in preparation for a possible start in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.

Under regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte worked five-eighths of a mile for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. It was the colt’s second workout since being scratched from the Derby on May 6.

“It seems like he’s maintained his fitness level,” Pletcher said. “It seems like everything is in good order.”

Forte was placed on a mandatory 14-day veterinary list after being scratched from the Derby because of a bruised right front foot. In order to be removed from the list, the colt had to work in front of a state veterinarian and give a blood sample afterward, the results of which take five days.

“There’s protocols in place and we had to adhere to those and we’re happy that everything went smoothly,” Pletcher said. “We felt confident the horse was in good order or we wouldn’t have been out there twice in the last six days, but you still want to make sure everything went smoothly and we’re happy everything did go well.”

Pletcher said Kingsbarns, who finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby, will miss the Belmont. The colt is showing signs of colic, although he is fine, the trainer said.

Another Pletcher-trained horse, Prove Worthy, is under consideration for the Belmont. He also has Tapit Trice, who finished seventh in the Derby, being pointed toward the Belmont.

Judge grants Churchill Downs’ request for summary judgment to dismiss Bob Baffert’s lawsuit

Associated PressMay 25, 2023, 9:36 PM EDT
churchill downs
Abbey Cutrer/USA TODAY NETWORK
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge has granted Churchill Downs’ motion for summary judgment that dismisses Bob Baffert’s claim the track breached due process by suspending the Hall of Fame trainer for two years.

Churchill Downs Inc. suspended Baffert in June 2021 after his now-deceased colt, Medina Spirit, failed a postrace drug test after crossing the finish line first in the 147th Kentucky Derby. The trainer’s request to lift the discipline was denied in February, keeping him out of the Derby for a second consecutive May.

U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ruled in a 12-page opinion issued Wednesday that Churchill Downs’ suspension of Baffert did not devalue his Kentucky trainer’s license. It cited his purse winnings exceeding $1 million at Keeneland in Lexington and stated that his argument “amounts to a false analogy that distorts caselaw.”

Jennings denied CDI’s motion to stay discovery as moot.

The decision comes less than a week after Baffert-trained colt National Treasure won the Preakness in his first Triple Crown race in two years. His record eighth win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown came hours after another of his horses, Havnameltdown, was euthanized following an injury at Pimlico.

Churchill Downs said in a statement that it was pleased with the court’s favorable ruling as in Baffert’s other cases.

It added, “While he may choose to file baseless appeals, this completes the seemingly endless, arduous and unnecessary litigation proceedings instigated by Mr. Baffert.”

Baffert’s suspension is scheduled to end on June 2, but the track’s release noted its right to extend it “and will communicate our decision” at its conclusion.