NBC earned a 9.0 final rating and 14.8 million viewers for the race segment of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, up 6% and 2%, respectively, from an 8.5 rating and 14.5 million viewers last year. The race had originally been down in the overnights. The viewership mark is the third-best audience for the race over the last 20 years, behind only Super Saver's win in '10 and Mine That Bird's win in '09. Louisville once again led all local markets with a 31.7 rating, down from a 34.4 rating last year. Cincinnati (18.3) and Ft. Myers-Naples (17.0) ranked second and third, respectively.
| KENTUCKY DERBY RATINGS TREND |
| YEAR | NET | RATING | VIEWERS (000) | WINNER |
| '12 | NBC | 9.0 | 14,800 | I'll Have Another |
| '11 | NBC | 8.5 | 14,540 | Animal Kingdom |
| '10 | NBC | 9.8 | 16,540 | Super Saver |
| '09 | NBC | 9.8 | 16,288 | Mine That Bird |
| '08 | NBC | 8.8 | 14,203 | Big Brown |
| '07 | NBC | 8.8 | 13,745 | Street Sense |
| '06 | NBC | 8.4 | 12,890 | Barbaro |
| '05 | NBC | 9.0 | 13,583 | Giacomo |
| '04 | NBC | 9.3 | 14,568 | Smarty Jones |
| '03 | NBC | 7.6 | 11,759 | Funny Cide |
| '02 | NBC | 8.3 | 12,823 | War Emblem |
| '01 | NBC | 9.3 | 13,478 | Monarchos |
| '00 | ABC | 5.8 | 7,929 | Fusiachi Pegasus |
| '99 | ABC | 6.3 | 8,699 | Charismatic |
| '98 | ABC | 6.1 | 8,264 | Real Quiet |
| '97 | ABC | 7.1 | 10,065 | Silver Charm |
| '96 | ABC | 7.4 | 9,774 | Grindstone |
| '95 | ABC | 6.0 | 8,129 | Thunder Gulch |
| '94 | ABC | 7.5 | 10,581 | Go For Gin |
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