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This weekend's Kentucky Derby will be broadcast in VR

Bring your own mint juleps.

Horsephotos/Getty Images

Television networks have already broadcast boxing, basketball and other sports live in VR. Heck, we've even stepped inside a soccer game. Virtual reality is becoming a regular part of live sports coverage, and that includes horse racing. NextVR and NBC are teaming up to stream his weekend's Kentucky Derby in VR for the first time. In fact, the duo says that this will be the first virtual reality broadcast for the sport of horse racing as a whole.

Saturday's festivities will be NBC's first live VR sports broadcast. However, NextVR has several live events under its belt, including working with Fox Sports on the aforementioned boxing and basketball streams. To provide the immersive visuals, five virtual reality cameras will be situated trackside for an uninterrupted view of the entire race and a glimpse of the owners' suites. There will be an two additional cameras in the paddock area to show the horses as they prepare to head to the starting gate.

If you're hoping to watch, you'll need a Gear VR headset to do so. Just fire it up and flip to the NBC channel inside the NextVR app. And yes, you're still required to wear a fancy hat.