2025 Kentucky Derby

The 2025 Kentucky Derby (branded as the 151st Running of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve for sponsorship reasons) was the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby. It took place on May 3, 2025, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The 2025 Derby was won by Sovereignty, who entered the race off of a win in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and a second-place finish in the Florida Derby. Sovereignty was trained by Bill Mott, who won his second Derby—the first since he trained Country House, who was elevated to first place following the disqualification of Maximum Security in the 2019 Kentucky Derby. It was the first Derby victory for Venezuelan jockey Junior Alvarado, and the first win in the race for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Godolphin racing. Godolphin won the Kentucky Oaks the previous day with Good Cheer, marking the first sweep by an owner of both the Oaks and Derby since Sol Kumin's Head of Plains Partners with Monomoy Girl and eventual Triple Crown champion Justify, respectively, in 2018. Godolphin is also the first sole ownership to win both races in the same year since 1952, when Calumet Farm won with Real Delight in the Oaks and Hill Gail in the Derby. Despite poor weather conditions and a sloppy racing surface, Churchill Downs reported an attendance of 147,406 for the 2025 Derby. The all-sources betting handle on the Derby and the entire racing card set records of $234.4 million and $349 million, respectively. NBC Sports reported an average of 17.7 million viewers across NBC and Peacock for their 25th Kentucky Derby broadcast, the largest television audience for the race since 1989.