It's described as fastest two minutes in sports, and it commences this weekend to much fanfare.

The big race starts 6:24 pm easter time at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky, as it is the 11th of 13 races.

Coverage of the 137th annual Kentucky Derby begins on Saturday, May 7th, at 4:00 pm eastern time on NBC. The coverage ends at 7:00 pm. NBC will provide bonus coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m.

The race is 1.25 miles, and includes 18 Thoroughbred horses. The first-place winner gets $1.425 million.

Uncle Mo has dropped out of the race due to health issues.

This year's list of Thoroughbred horses include:

Archarcharch

Brilliant Speed

Twice the Appeal

Stay Thirsty

Decisive Moment

Pants on Fire

Dialed In

Derby Kitten

Twinspired

Master of Hounds

Santiva

Mucho Macho Man

Shackleford

Midnight Interlude

Animal Kingdom

Soldat

Nehro

Watch Me Go