NBC will have all the horses

There are several questions surrounding the 20-horse field for Saturday’s 134th Kentucky Derby, but two things are certain: The band will play “My Old Kentucky Home” and television will have the blimp shot.

Can Big Brown, the favorite who has raced only three times, win from the No. 20 post position? Will the switch from the synthetic track at Santa Anita to the cool dirt at Churchill Downs disrupt California’s Colonel John and Bob Black Jack? Does the filly Eight Belles have the strength and stamina to run a mile and a quarter?

The answers will come about an hour after NBC begins its Derby coverage at 2 p.m. with Tom Hammond and Bob Costas as co-hosts alongside jockey Gary Stevens, the three-time winner of the Run for the Roses. Contributing to the race analysis are Mike Battaglia and Bob Neumeier, along with reporters Kenny Rice and Donna Barton Brothers, a former jockey who will be on the track.

Post time is set for 3:04 p.m. PDT and Tom Durkin will call the race.

In a conference call with reporters Thursday, Stevens said he didn’t expect Colonel John to have a problem adjusting to a dirt track. “He had an outstanding gallop, a very, very good ride,” Stevens said of one of the horse’s workouts earlier this week.

The No. 20 post position could work in favor of Big Brown, the winner of the Florida Derby. “If he stumbles at the start, he can avoid interference,” Stevens said.

It has been 30 years since Affirmed and Alydar hooked up in the stretch at Churchill Downs in what was to become a classic Triple Crown rivalry. Can Big Brown and Colonel John do the same? It’ll take two minutes for a clearer picture to unfold Saturday afternoon.

NBC has expanded its coverage this year with the pre-race “Access at the Derby,” a 1 p.m. show hosted by Billy Bush. The show will invite viewers backstage at the Derby for celebrity interviews and also focus an eye on fashion at the race.

In other horse racing programming, Fox presents the premiere of “Laffit -- All About Winning,” a feature documentary about the life and career of jockey Laffit Pincay Jr., produced and directed by Academy Award-winner Jim Wilson (“Dances With Wolves”).

Kevin Costner narrates the two-hour show, which will be shown today at 4 p.m. on FSN West, and again at noon on Saturday May 17.

Also available for viewing this weekend, along with NBA games to be determined:

Dodgers at Colorado Rockies (tonight, 6 p.m., Prime; Saturday, 5 p.m. Prime; Sunday, noon, Channel 9). Vin Scully will be in the broadcast booth in Denver for this three-game series against the Rockies, who were swept at Dodger Stadium last weekend. The Dodgers return home Monday night at 7 to face the New York Mets on Prime.

Baltimore Orioles at Angels (tonight, 7 p.m., Channel 13; Saturday, 12:45 p.m., Channel 11; Sunday, 12:30 p.m., FSNW). For the second week in a row, the Angels’ Saturday game is on Fox. The Orioles have cooled off after a hot start.

Boxing, Oscar De La Hoya vs. Steve Forbes (Saturday, 7 p.m. HBO). Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward will be at ringside for the first fight at the Home Depot Center’s soccer stadium. It’s also the first time since 2001 that De La Hoya has appeared on HBO’s Championship Boxing Series card.

Track and field, USC at UCLA (Saturday, 1 p.m. Prime). The meet between the crosstown rivals was once a seminal event in Los Angeles -- newspapers would even publish a dope sheet. Dwight Stones, Ato Boldon, Tom Feuer and Lindsay Soto will report from Drake Stadium.

A side note on Soto: She will be working for NBC at the Summer Olympics in Beijing in an assignment to be announced.

PGA Tour Wachovia Championship (today, noon, the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, noon, Channel 2). Although Tiger Woods, the defending champion, is recuperating from knee surgery, the field has 19 of the top 25 players in the world, including Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Jim Furyk, Trevor Immelman and Vijay Singh. Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo headline the coverage on CBS.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Dan Lowry 400 (Saturday, 4 p.m., Channel 11). NASCAR’s premier racing series takes another prime-time drive under the lights, at Richmond International Raceway.

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john scheibe@latimes.com