LeaguesSportico
Club Sportico: Kentucky Derby History Is a Marketing Masterclass
Close to 20 million people will tune into NBC’s Kentucky Derby coverage Saturday. Another 150,000 will fill Churchill Downs’s hallowed grounds. But how exactly did the Run for the Roses become America’s biggest race—and even more importantly, how has it sustained its cultural power even as the sport’s has waned? This…
Published 1 May 2026Curated by Transfer Window
Summary
Close to 20 million people will tune into NBC’s Kentucky Derby coverage Saturday. Another 150,000 will fill Churchill Downs’s hallowed grounds. But how exactly did the Run for the Roses become America’s biggest race—and even more importantly, how has it sustained its cultural power even as the sport’s has waned? This…