It’s that time of the year again. The Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday and it’s arguably the biggest horse race in the world. There will be 20 horses competing in the race and only 3-year-old thoroughbreds can qualify. Coverage of the 2022 Kentucky Derby will start at noon ET on the USA Network and will end at 2:30 p.m. ET. NBC will take over following USA Network’s coverage and will end at 7:30 p.m. ET. The official race will start at 6:57 p.m. ET and can also be streamed on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.
This year’s Kentucky Derby will not have a familiar face. Legendary trainer Bob Baffert will not be in attendance as he’s been banned from the Churchill Downs for two years after his horse, Medina Spirit who won last year’s Kentucky Derby, tested positive for a banned substance. Medina Spirit died unexpectedly last year.
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“CDI has consistently advocated for strict medication regulations so that we can confidently ensure that horses are fit to race and the races are conducted fairly,” Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said in a statement at the time. “Reckless practices and substance violations that jeopardize the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable and as a company we must take measures to demonstrate that they will not be tolerated.
“Mr. Baffert’s record of testing failures threatens public confidence in thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby. Given these repeated failures over the last year, including the increasingly extraordinary explanations, we firmly believe that asserting our rights to impose these measures is our duty and responsibility.”
Baffert does have two former horses in the Kentucky Derby who have a strong chance to win — Messier and Taiba. Baffert’s former assistant Tom Yakteen has been training the horses and hasn’t had any communication with Baffert ahead of the race. Two other horses who are favored are Zandon and Epicenter, whose trainer, Steve Asmussen, has failed to win the derby in 23 attempts.
“I really don’t see them missing a beat,” Yakteen said to reporters about his horses, per the Lexington Herald-Leader. “It would be just like any horse shifting from one team to another … they’ve been exceptionally straightforward, very easy to train. They’re smart horses. … They really don’t have any quirks about them, so it makes my job pretty easy.”
