Title: Record-Breaking Viewership for Kentucky Derby 151: Influencer Griffin Johnson Captivates a New Generation

LEXINGTON, Ky. — More eyes saw the 151st Kentucky Derby than any other run for the roses in nearly 40 years. According to NBC, this year’s Kentucky Derby averaged 17.7 million viewers, the highest since 1989.

What You Need To Know

• Ratings for Kentucky Derby 151 were the highest for NBC since 1989, including record streaming numbers on Peacock.
• This year, Influencer Griffin Johnson had a horse, Sandman, in the Derby.
• Johnson has 9.7 million followers on TikTok and shared his and Sandman’s journey on social media.
• America’s Best Racing aims to grow the sport of horse racing, focusing heavily on Gen Z fans.

America’s Best Racing, founded in 2012, aims to grow the sport of horse racing to all fans, and this year the organization had one of its biggest reaches yet through TikTok.

Among the thousands of faces at this year’s Kentucky Derby, one of the youngest was in the owner’s box; Influencer Griffin Johnson.

“This is probably the most prestigious thing you can do in horse racing, especially just getting to the Kentucky Derby. Being able to go on the track and be with the horses is special,” Johnson said.

Leading up to and throughout the Derby, Johnson brought the world of horse racing to his nearly 10 million followers on TikTok and millions more on other social media platforms. In partnership with America’s Best Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds, Johnson was given minority ownership in Sandman.

“The whole thought with a program like Stake in Stardom is gifting a minority interest to an influencer, a media personality, an athlete, and then they are personally invested in that thoroughbred racehorse,” Rachel Miller, digital marketing manager at America’s Best Racing, said.

Miller oversees the Stake in Stardom program. In the past, it has worked with sports media personalities, including NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Miller said through social media, the 26-year-old Johnson reached a new Generation Z audience. Gen Z is anyone born between 1997 and 2012.

“Our conservative estimate is that he probably drove hundreds of thousands of people to watch that otherwise would have not,” Miller said.

According to Miller, the Stake in Stardom program posts got over 268 million impressions, including over 111 million views. The America’s Best Racing page alone had 76,058,165 video views.

Through his videos, Johnson gave his followers a peek into the life of owning and training a thoroughbred on the biggest stage of all. Miller said Sandman also became a celebrity and followers’ favorite.

“That’s the thing with social media. Everybody thinks that something that they watch or see online they think oh that’s me, that’s my horse too. All of the comments are this is our horse; Sandman won our hearts,” Miller said.

Miller said the goal of America’s Best Racing is growing the audience and making it more inviting.

“The sport that has the most compelling stories, it’s not athletes playing for themselves, it’s a horse that represents a whole team of people,” Miller said.

Former Kentucky State Senator, now horse racing industry consultant Damon Thayer, met Johnson during Derby Week. Thayer said Johnson is a great addition to the horse racing scene.

“It’s great to see the Gen Z group make their way to the races in greater numbers,” Thayer said. “I think it’s a really positive sign.”

Thayer said while kids like his who grew up in Kentucky may be accustomed to horse racing, many across the nation may have seen the race through Johnson for the first time.

“I think a lot of these influencers like Griffin and his contemporaries are getting younger people interested in horse racing and in turn are watching the broadcast on NBC or streaming it on Peacock,” Thayer said.

Inspiring a new generation of racing fans.

“Anyone watching this if it’s your first time, if it’s your hundredth time, I just want to say thank you for supporting and this is the best sport in America,” Johnson said.

Johnson is originally from Paris, Illinois, which is about 90 miles west of Indianapolis.

As for Sandman, his team announced on May 9, he would be running in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 17.