Getty The $1 million Santa Anita Derby will take place on Saturday.
The 2019 Grade-1 Santa Anita Derby, one of the biggest of the Kentucky Derby prep races, will take place Saturday in Arcadia, California.
Post time for the race is scheduled for 7:14 p.m. ET and will be televised on NBC Sports Network (Saturday’s Wood Memorial and Blue Grass Stakes will also be shown live on the same broadcast). But if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of NBC Sports Network on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming subscription services:
NBC Sports Network is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Wood Memorial on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the race (and other events) on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages, all of which include NBC Sports Network.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Wood Memorial on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including NBC Sports Network.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Wood Memorial on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
2019 Santa Anita Derby Preview
The winner of the race gets 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, with 40 to second, 20 to third, and 10 to fourth.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has two horses in the race, and they have the best morning line odds, per BookMaker: Game Winner (4-5) and Roadster (5-2).
In five races, Game Winner has four victories and a runner-up finish, including wins at the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes and the Grade 1 Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Most recently, the horse suffered a narrow defeat to Omaha Beach at the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 16.
“Game Winner wants to go farther but that was the right trip for him,” Baffert said, according to BloodHorse. “He wasn’t standing right in the gate and got away a half-step slow but then got back into it, showing how good he is. The one that beat him is a good one.”
Roadster has a pair of victories and a third-place finish in three starts, but he’s looking for his first Kentucky Derby qualifying points.
“I’m happy with him. I fell behind with him,” Baffert said, per BloodHorse. “He’s a light, lean horse and it didn’t take a lot to get him ready. He put in a very impressive race off the layoff. He ran lights out and has worked well since.”
Baffert Defends the Sport
On March 31, 5-year-old gelding Arms Runner suffered a catastrophic injury in a fall at Santa Anita and had to be euthanized. He was the 23rd horse to die at the track since December 26, prompting pressure for changes from PETA and a three-week pause in competition at Santa Anita.
Baffert didn’t train any of the late horses, but discussed the incident in a teleconference on April 2.
“This is our version of March Madness this time of year, but we’ve got the wrong madness going on,” he said, according to The Courier-Journal. “We’ve been getting beat down pretty good, but it’s a beautiful sport. People don’t really understand it. We’ve had some bad luck here, and it’s very unusual what’s going on here. We want to make it as safe as possible on these horses.
“These horses, they’re not our livelihood, they’re our way of life. There are a lot of people back here that are employees, and we have to make this work. I worry about the families and everything else. Racing needs to do well.”
Post Positions and Morning Line Odds
According to BookMaker:
1. Roadster (5-2)
2. More Ice (30-1)
3. Nolo Contesto (6-1)
4. Synthesis (30-1)
5. Instagrand (3-1)
6. Game Winner (4-5)