From The Sports Desk: Derby day eve

Clear your schedule, and get your mint julep ready.

Clear your schedule, and get your mint julep ready. The Kentucky Derby is tomorrow! Of the 151 iterations of the race, NBC Sports’ Tim Layden has covered 22. He explains why the Derby is both the most consistent — and unpredictable — of all sporting events. Also, our numbers guy Steve Kornacki analyzed the Derby field and identified some best bets.

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Tomorrow, our NBC News sports team will be live-blogging the Derby all day, keeping you up to date on all the biggest hats and the long shots. Check the NBC News website for continuing coverage, too.

The Kentucky Derby is the most static and reliable piece of the American sports calendar. It has been contested almost annually without interruption since 10 years after the end of the Civil War, and on the first Saturday in May for almost a century.