Bloodlines Win Big in Record-Breaking Kentucky Derby 151

The greatest weakness in the sport of horse racing was what defined success on the sport’s biggest stage at the Kentucky Derby.

It was a record-breaking weekend for viewership and wagering. The Kentucky Derby card brought in $349 million in bets from all sources, breaking a record set a year ago. The two-minute race accounted for $234.4 million in wagers. Wow.

That might explain why the NBC Sports broadcast peaked with a record 21.8 million viewers from 7-7:15 PM ET. NBC averaged 17.7 million viewers during the broadcast, the most since 1989 and the highest ratings the company has seen since it became the rights-holder 25 years ago.

That record-breaking audience watched Sovereignty pull away from Journalism down the stretch to secure the first-ever Kentucky Derby win for trainer Bill Mott and the Godolphin race team.

Bloodlines Dominate Kentucky Derby Storylines

If you didn’t see it on the NBC broadcast, you saw it on social media. Every Kentucky Derby entry was a descendant of Secretariat. It’s a bit ironic. Secretariat’s progeny (horse term for offspring) was notorious for performing poorly on the track. It’s clear that it changed further down the family tree.

Into Mischief was the biggest winner on Derby Day. The Spendthrift Stallion is the sire (horse term for Father) of Sovereignty. Into Mischief is also the sire of Derby winners Authentic and Mandaloun. He’s the first stallion with three Kentucky Derby winners since Bull Lea in 1957, tying the all-time record.

Typically, bloodlines are defined by sires. There is a broodmare (horse term for Mother) stealing the show, too. Puca gave birth to Mage, Dornoch, and Baeza, the late-charging three-year-old who finished third at Churchill Downs on Saturday. That’s three straight years the daughter of Big Brown has entered a horse into a Triple Crown race. She has a Derby winner, a Belmont winner, and a third-place finisher who appears to be trending in the right direction.

This post comes from John Stewart, the owner of Resolute Racing, who was a popular figure in Netflix’s Race for the Crown.

PUCA watching BAEZA get third in the @KentuckyDerby

A mare like no other.

Yes, we humanize our horses …. because @resracingky farm they are human. pic.twitter.com/HyZXH9Sp3S

— Jstewartrr (@jstewartrr) May 4, 2025

The Godolphin Double

While mingling with horse racing fans in the Infield, my wife met a trio of travelers from the Saudi Kingdom. They were college students in their 20s who attend LSU. To say attending the Kentucky Derby was a bucket list item would be an understatement.

In Saudi Arabia, horse racing is still the “Sport of Kings” in the most literal sense possible. It is the top sport in the country, and it is actually ran by the Kings, or what we call the Sheikhs. They cannot wager on the horses in Saudi Arabia, but the Kings are still wheeling and dealing. Even though the travelers made wagers on Citizen Bull, they were ecstatic when Sovereignty crossed the finish line first, giving their home country a Derby victory.

Godolphin is the five-time defending Eclipse owner of the year, however, they never had a Derby winner. This year, Goldophin became the fifth owner in 151 years to win the Kentucky Derby and Oaks in the same year, taking home the big race on Friday with Good Cheer.

A Great Week for Racing, but Long-Term Consequences Linger

Horse racing’s biggest problem isn’t fatalities on the track. The ratings and handle indicate that it’s still popular to a widespread audience. The problem is the sport can’t expand on that one weekend of popularity.

Despite Bill Mott’s cautious words on Sunday, Sovereignty will probably race in two weeks at Pimlico. Regardless of the Triple Crown outcome, we’ll probably only see the horse run four more times in his lifetime. American Pharoah had five starts after his Derby triumph, and that was an outlier.

Sovereignty earned $3.1 million in one race. His sire, Into Mischief, can make that in a week of breeding. A horse’s value is worth more as a breeder than as a racer, and the Kentucky Derby victory only reinforced that for the world’s richest owners. Until that math changes, horse racing is perpetually stuck between a rock and a hard place.