Sky Sports and Racing TV will broadcast the Kentucky Derby in the UK this Saturday, 4 May, joining 19 other broadcasters in showing the setpiece horse racing event.

Billed as, “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” the Derby is celebrating its 150th anniversary at Churchill Downs Racetrack. NBCU and HBA Media have worked together on the distribution for the event, with the result being 21 broadcasters showing the race across 170 territories.

In addition to Sky Sports and Racing TV, as well as Virgin Media in Ireland, host broadcaster NBC will be live and on course with Nick Luck and Britney Eurton at the helm of a multi-hour broadcast on their network channel. ESPN will show it in South America, Australia, Caribbean and New Zealand; Citytv in Canada; and SuperSport in 48 Sub-Saharan territories.

Elsewhere, Eurovision will air it across Europe, in addition to S Sport (Turkey), Polsat (Poland), CYTA (Cyprus), WeDo Sports (Germany, Switzerland, Austria), Silknet (Georgia) and Setanta (Baltics and Eurasia). Other broadcasters areTransVision (Indonesia), NTV (Mongolia) and Sony Pictures Network (Indian Subcontinent). 

Reuters and SNTV will distribute the coverage around the globe, while TransWorld Sport – the popular long-running sports magazine show – will feature the Kentucky Derby for its upcoming global programme.  Sport24 will also make the race available on 12 airlines and 18 cruise ships worldwide.

Patrick Troutman, VP at Churchill Downs, said: “The Kentucky Derby has long been a global brand with international appeal. We’re excited to have the opportunity to bring all the thrills of the milestone 150th Run for the Roses to our fans around the world.”

“We are excited to bring our best-in-class production to the largest group of international partners ever for this milestone 150th Kentucky Derby,” said Gary Quinn, NBC Sports vice president of programming and general manager of owned properties.

Frank Sale, managing director of HBA Media, said: “We are delighted to have secured several new broadcasters for the much-anticipated Kentucky Derby.

“The extensive worldwide audience are set to witness the most spectacular celebrations that mark the 150th running and will get the opportunity to enjoy one of the greatest US sporting events.”