Kentucky Derby Start Time 2020: TV Schedule and Post Time for Churchill Downs

The 146th running of the Kentucky Derby will be a far cry from the usual spectacle of large hats, mint juleps and NFL quarterbacks and their crews. 

In 2020, the Derby was postponed for just the second time in history. It was moved from the first weekend in May to the start of September because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As recently as August 12, Churchill Downs planned to allow a maximum of 40 percent occupancy of reserved seats, or 23,000 fans, with no general admission or standing room only tickets. Guests were to wear face coverings throughout the venue and receive temperature checks upon entering. 

More closely packed Kentucky Derby Week events were canceled outright, including autograph signings, concerts in the Plaza, fashion contests, Taste of Derby, the Survivors Parade, the military enlistment ceremony and the Red Carpet.

However, on August 21, Churchill Downs changed its course and announced that no spectators would be allowed on-site to watch the Derby. 

Still, most fans watch The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports from home, and that is what they will do again this year, with a compelling 18-horse field sure to deliver a good race. 

Below is all the information you'll need to tune in to the Derby on Saturday, as well as some further intel on the three-year-old thoroughbreds in this year's race. 

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Kentucky Derby TV Schedule

Date: Saturday, Sept. 5

Location: Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky

Post Time: 7:01 p.m. ET

TV Channel: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports app, NBCsports.com  

Post Positions and Odds

No. 1. Finnick the Fierce 50-1

No. 2. Max Player 30-1

No. 3. Enforceable 30-1

No. 4. Storm the Court 50-1

No. 5. Major Fed 50-1

No. 6. King Guillermo 20-1

No. 7. Money Moves 30-1

No. 8. South Bend 50-1

No. 9. Mr. Big News 50-1

No. 10. Thousand Words 15-1

No. 11. Necker Island 50-1

No. 12. Sole Volante 30-1

No. 13. Attachment Rate 50-1

No. 14. Winning Impression 50-1

No. 15. Ny Traffic 20-1

No. 16. Honor A. P. 5-1

No. 17. Tiz the Law 3-5

No. 18. Authentic 8-1

Odds via Vegas Insider and current as of Sept. 3

Ever since Art Collector dropped out of the race Tuesday morning because of a "minor foot ailment," according to DRF, reducing the field from 19 runners to 18, the distance between odds-on favorite Tiz the Law's and the next-highest horse in the odds increased even further. 

There's no sure thing at the Derby, of course, but Tiz the Law's spring and summer results speak for themselves and are the foundation of his high regard.

The bay colt won all four races he ran this year, and he is the only horse in the field to have won at the same distance as the Derby—1¼ (10 furlongs). That was last month in the Travers Stakes, which he won by 5½ lengths (only after easing up). 

One-eyed chestnut colt Finnick the Fierce is the only horse in the field who has ever finished ahead of Tiz the Law, in November's Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. The Rey Hernandez-trained colt will be a favorite underdog story on Saturday. 

However, Finnick the Fierce does not mount a considerable challenge to Tiz the Law; few of the horses in the field do.

One horse bettors may also favor is Ny Traffic, trained by Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. The gray colt from, you guessed it, New York has been consistent and even, placing in the Risen Star (G2), Louisiana Derby (G2), Matt Winn (G3) and Haskell (G1) over five months. 

Honor A. P. had an impressive showing in the Santa Anita Derby in June; after finishing in second to Authentic in the San Felipe Stakes three months earlier, the dark bay ridgeling found his second gear to pull ahead of Authentic in the Santa Anita Derby.

However, the extra quarter-mile in length in the Kentucky Derby will be the make-or-break point not just for Honor A. P., but for the rest of the field looking to challenge Tiz the Law, who has already shown what he can do at that length.