Ashley Judd to narrate NBC Kentucky Derby open
By The Associated Press, Associated Press
May 1, 2015 6:34 PM CDT
FILE - In this April 25, 2015 file photo, Ashley Judd attends the 2015 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington. Judd is big on Kentucky sporting events. She cheered on the Kentucky Wildcats during March Madness, and now she’ll voice the opening of...   (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Ashley Judd is big on Kentucky sporting events. She cheered on the Kentucky Wildcats during March Madness, and now she'll voice the opening of NBC's Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

NBC says she's the first woman to voice the opening of their Derby coverage since they started broadcasting it in 2001. Judd, of course, is a famous Kentucky native and graduated from the University of Kentucky.

The actress said she's been attending the derby, the first in the Triple Crown of horse racing, for years, and says narrating the opening is a sweet bouquet.

Just over half, or 51 percent, of the Derby's audience is made up of women, according to NBC, making it one of the few sporting events to have a dominant female audience.