| Thursday, May 14, 2026 | Contact: Dan Tordjman 212.521.5323 |
| ABR Sets New Standard for Digital Storytelling Around the 152nd Kentucky Derby | |
LEXINGTON, Ky. America’s Best Racing (ABR), the national content and marketing platform of The Jockey Club, today announced record-breaking results from its 2026 Kentucky Derby campaign. The effort represents the most ambitious digital storytelling push in the organization’s history and coincides with two consecutive years of record television viewership for the Run for the Roses. Launched on March 1 and running through Derby Day on May 2, 2026, ABR’s campaign generated more than 150 million video views across Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube, nearly double the 76 million views from its already record-setting 2025 campaign. Total engagements surpassed 10.7 million, a 191% year-over-year increase, while overall impressions topped 104 million, up 98% from the prior year. The centerpiece of the campaign was ABR’s exclusive capture of trainer Cherie DeVaux’s reaction to Golden Tempo’s victory, a win that made DeVaux the first woman in the race’s history to train the Kentucky Derby winner. The resulting reaction reel accumulated nearly 32 million views on Instagram alone, reaching 21.3 million accounts with 2.75 million interactions and 421,000 shares, with 98.6% of its audience coming from non-followers. The footage was subsequently broadcast by national media including NBC, CNN, Fox News, and numerous additional outlets, as well as the social media accounts of influential personalities and mainstream celebrities. Conservative estimates place total third-party social media views of ABR’s owned footage at 55 million to 155 million additional views beyond ABR’s own channels, the equivalent of $1.1 million to $7.75 million in paid media value. That scale of earned reach, generated from a single piece of original content captured by ABR at the track, speaks to the organization’s unique position at the intersection of storytelling and sports marketing. “What ABR accomplished this Derby season reflects something that can’t be manufactured overnight,” said Dan Tordjman, president of TJC Media Ventures. “Being in position to capture a moment like the DeVaux reaction, and to have it travel the way it did, is the result of a unique blend of editorial instincts and content strategy that our team has built over years. None of ABR’s reach or impact would be possible without the ongoing and longstanding support and funding of The Jockey Club.” The Jockey Club and ABR also made a deliberate investment this year in building interest well beyond Derby week, commissioning Unbridled: Chasing the Kentucky Derby — the first serialized short-form video series ever produced at the national level in Thoroughbred racing. Created in partnership with the award-winning Hennegan Brothers, the series delivered nearly 70 unique character-driven episodes across the full Derby prep season, following horses, trainers, and jockeys from the early stakes races through the gates at Churchill Downs. The collaboration generated approximately 16 million views and proved that compelling storytelling can sustain a national racing audience for more than just a single Saturday. The 2026 Kentucky Derby set all-time viewership records on NBC and Peacock, averaging 19.6 million viewers, the race’s most-watched edition in the modern era and NBC’s most-watched Saturday program since the Milan Cortina Olympics. Peak viewership hit 24.4 million, up 12% from 2025. Streaming viewership on Peacock reached a record 1.3 million Average Minute Audience viewers, up 36% year-over-year and nearly double 2024’s figure. This marks two consecutive years of record-breaking Derby audiences. In 2025, viewership averaged 17.7 million, the race’s largest audience since 1989, coinciding with the landmark “A Stake in Stardom” initiative that ABR spearheaded in partnership with social media powerhouse Griffin Johnson. Widely recognized as the largest influencer marketing campaign in horse racing history, the program brought Johnson’s then 14 million-plus social media following into the Derby experience as a minority owner of Arkansas Derby winner Sandman. Johnson’s 51 Derby-related posts from March to May 2025 generated more than 212 million impressions and 35 million views. In 2026, ABR sustained and exceeded those results entirely through organic storytelling, with no paid influencer amplification, demonstrating that the growth in horse racing’s digital audience is durable and structural. About America’s Best Racing America’s Best Racing is a multimedia fan development and awareness-building platform, funded by The Jockey Club, designed to increase the profile and visibility of North America’s best Thoroughbred racing events and is the online destination for all things related to the sport. Through expert content, human and equine interest features, award-winning video content, livestream, second-screen productions, and wide-reaching influencer campaigns, America’s Best Racing introduces the love of horse racing to the next generation of fans, turning them into lifelong fans of the sport and lifestyle. For more information visit americasbestracing.net and follow ABR on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. About The Jockey Club The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for Thoroughbreds in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. A New York non-profit organization governed by a board of stewards, The Jockey Club has offices in New York and Kentucky. Profits from the commercial subsidiaries of The Jockey Club support investments in initiatives to improve the health, safety, and welfare of Thoroughbreds and to market and grow the sport. Among its many supported initiatives are America’s Best Racing (americasbestracing.net), OwnerView (ownerview.com), and the Thoroughbred Incentive Program (tjctip.com). Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com. | |