Kentucky Derby 2019 Live

Kentucky Derby 2019 Live,The 145th running of the Kentucky Derby is a few hours away. Gamblers and horse-racing fans alike are getting prepared. This year's field features 20 horses who will be competing for a largest-ever guaranteed purse of $3 million, an increase of $1 million from last year.

Watch Kentucky Derby 2019 Live

Held on the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby is the a Grade I stakes race culminating a two-week Kentucky Derby festival. The Churchill Downs race day card begins at 12:45 p.m. Post time for the 145th Run for the Roses is 6:50 p.m.  All times eastern.

The Kentucky Derby – known as "the fastest two minutes in sports" – is the first race of the famed Triple Crown. The Preakness Stakes is set for the third Saturday in May. The final race, the Belmont Stakes, is held three weeks after the Preakness. 

It’s called the “Greatest Two-Minutes in Sports.” The journey to get to the Kentucky Derby started four years ago when breeders and owners hope to put together the perfect combination of sire and mare. A horse later emerges that everyone hopes will take them to the first Saturday in May. This is the culmination of that quest, a spectacle held before more than 150,000 people at Churchill Downs. Trainer Bob Baffert, who has three horses in the race, calls this one of the tightest Derbies in a long time. Things got even more interesting when the favorite, Omaha Beach, had to scratch because of a minor medical condition. Now, it’s on to the Run For the Roses.

We’ll be here to help you navigate the day with capsules of all the horses, the latest odds, start times and weather conditions. Come back all day and be surprised by what you find.

Weather forecast for Saturday's Kentucky Derby

One variable to keep on eye on this Saturday is the weather. rain has been a factor in the previous two years, rating the track at Churchill Downs as both "sloppy" and "muddy."

According to the National Weather Service, light to moderate rain is expected to move northeast this morning. Light rain showers are expected to move through the Louisville area through noon today. While rain may taper off before post-time, the wet weather and previous races may slow down horses for the Running of the Roses feature.

Kentucky Derby weather over the years

Rain has fallen on Derby day 68 times over its past 144 runnings. With over three inches of rainfall on race day, last year's was the wettest-ever in Kentucky Derby history.

The warmest temperature ever recorded for the Kentucky Derby was 94 degrees in 1959, according to the National Weather Service. The coldest was 36 degrees in 1940 and 1957.

Omaha Beach – Derby favorite – is out

One shocker coming into the race is that the favorite, Omaha Beach, a powerful horse who has won three straight races and entered with pool-best odds of 4-1, has dropped out. The horse reportedly was scratched due to a breathing problem. Game Winner is now the new favorite, with recent odds giving the horse a pool best 5-1 chance of victory. On the other end of the spectrum, a long-shot making waves before the big race is Tacitus, who comes in at 10-1. Tacitus won the Tampa Bay Derby and the Wood Memorial in his last two starts and could be the classic underdog carried forward with big momentum.

One group of horses to keep an eye on are the trio of Improbable, Roadster and Game Winner, all trained by the legendary Bob Baffert, winner of the 2018 Triple Crown with Justify and the 2015 Triple Crown with American Pharoah. This year Baffert looks to win a record-tying sixth Kentucky Derby, which would match "Plain" Ben Jones, winner of six Derby races between 1938 and 1952.