05 May 2023 , 17:22
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Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes will give the famous “Riders Up” declaration at the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
The two-time Super Bowl champion, 27, will start “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports”, joining a prestigious club of celebrities to do so - a tradition that started in 2012.
Quarterback Mahomes joins Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who gave the "Riders Up" declaration in 2016, and former Louisville star Teddy Bridgewater in representing the NFL at the event. NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving, former Louisville football coach Charlie Strong, and Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari have also given the famous call at the Derby.
Last year, rapper and Louisville native Jack Harlow gave the call and this year, $3million (£2.3m) is on the line with a full field of 20 entrants. The pre-race favourite has won six out of the last ten runnings, however, in the last four years the favourite has lost.
"Riders Up" is a traditional command for jockeys to mount their horses in advance of the upcoming race and usually comes just over a quarter of an hour before getting going.
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Mahomes is one of the NFL's biggest stars. The two-time NFL MVP signed a 10-year, $450m (£355.8m) contract with Kansas in 2020, but the first year of that decade-long deal was in 2022.
Rapper Jack Harlow made the call at Kentucky last year (Getty)His star-studded status will also see him take to a golf course in June in an NFL vs NBA clash in Las Vegas. Mahomes and Travis Kelce of Kansas will face Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the 2021-22 champion Golden State Warriors over 12 holes at the Wynn Golf Club on June 29.
It will be the second appearance in The Match for both Mahomes and Curry and the match will be televised on TNT. Mahomes and Kelce could go into the golf tournament as the only champions of their respective sport, with Curry, Thompson, and the Warriors' NBA title on the line.
The Warriors are tied up 1-1 with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semi-finals. Curry and Co won Game Two 127-100.