Donna Brothers Ends NBC Derby Run After 26 Races
Donna Brothers will work her final Kentucky Derby on Saturday, ending a 26-race run in NBC’s Derby coverage. She decided two years ago that this would be her last year, and the move closes a stretch that began when NBC acquired the race in 2001.
Brothers and the Derby
Brothers, now 60, said she wanted to get through Kentucky Derby 151 and then Derby 152 before stepping away. She turned 60 on April 22, and she did not announce her retirement publicly until last week.
That timeline makes Saturday her final Run for the Roses. For NBC, it removes a familiar on-air presence who has covered the race through 26 editions.
Tirico on Brothers
Mike Tirico said, “Very rarely do you get to work in TV with people who define a role in sports television, and Donna has done that.” He also pointed to the timing of her reactions and observations, saying, “The immediate reaction Donna gets race after race, and her observations are such a unique part of what we do in television.”
Brothers has long worked from close to the action. Her role included speaking to trainers and owners on the walkover to the paddock and interviewing the winning jockey on horseback, a format that made her a fixed part of NBC’s Derby telecast.
From rider to reporter
Before television, Brothers was a jockey. She retired from riding in 1998 after an 11-year career that produced 1,130 wins, then joined NBC in 2000 for Breeders’ Cup coverage before becoming part of the network’s Kentucky Derby team in 2001.
Her Derby archive includes the first interview with Victor Espinoza after American Pharoah won the Triple Crown in 2015 and the first with Mike Smith after Justify did it three years later. Brothers said Calvin Borel’s 2007 win aboard Street Sense still stands out most, adding, “You can see a very emotional win for Calvin Borel as the tears are streaming down his face.”
Eight Belles and Big Brown
Not every memory she carries from the race is celebratory. In 2008, Brothers was near the second turn when Eight Belles went down shortly after finishing second, and the filly was euthanized on the track after breaking both front ankles.
She also later second-guessed the interview she conducted with Kent Desormeaux aboard Big Brown after that Derby win. “Kent was also upset, and I just said, ‘OK, let’s” Brothers said, leaving the line unfinished in the recollection she shared about the moment.
Saturday ends a long, visible run in one of horse racing’s biggest broadcasts. Brothers said of the job, “I’ve had the second-best seat in the house for 26 years, and I really believe that. I think the best seat in the house is whoever rode the Kentucky Derby winner.”
