NBC analyst Donna Brothers to cover her final Kentucky Derby in 2026
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When the winning thoroughbred thunders across the finish line at this year’s 152-year-old Kentucky Derby, Donna Brothers, astride her own horse, will be the first person the whom the victorious jockey speaks. Still breathless and buzzing with excitement, the jockey's first interview will be with Brothers as the two ride side-by-side with more than 150,000 fans roaring around them and millions more watching from home.
For 26 years, Brothers has been a defining voice of NBC’s coverage of the longest continuously held sporting event in America. Beyond the Kentucky Derby, she has covered the Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, the Breeders’ Cup, and a globe’s worth of equestrian events that have taken her from Louisville to Geneva, Switzerland.
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“I feel so lucky to have worked for NBC. I’ve loved this job and have had so many great experiences and opportunities through the years,” Brothers told The Courier Journal. “Besides horse racing, I’ve covered the World Equestrian Games in Germany and here at the Kentucky Horse Park, the American Quarter Horse Association World Championships in Oklahoma, show jumping in Geneva, plus professional bull riding.”
Before she ever held a microphone, Brothers spent 12 years in the saddle as a jockey. When she retired in 1998, she was the second-leading female rider in the nation by earnings. Broadcasting came next, an unexpected pivot that required her to stretch beyond her racing roots.
"I wasn’t an expert in all those different fields, but I researched and learned enough to ask decent questions with some degree of expertise,” she said. “I typically spend five to six hours a day in front of a computer doing research and getting to know everything I can about the event and the athletes I cover.”
That diligence has paid off. Brothers has earned multiple honors, including the Jim McKay Award for Excellence in Broadcasting, and recognition from Sports Illustrated, which named her the best sideline reporter.
Her influence extends well beyond the NBC camera. Brothers has been a steady advocate for the racing industry and the Louisville community, championing programs close to her heart.
As an executive board member of the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs, a program which supports the backside workers at the racetrack, she helped launch “Ladies Day at the Races,” an annual fashion-forward fundraiser held on Millionaires Row.
A longtime Louisvillian and a bit of a fashionista, Brothers has long understood the cultural weight of trackside style.
“Women get on the phone with their friends, and they talk about what they’re wearing, and they make an effort,” she said previously. “Maybe it’s part of being in the South, maybe it’s just Louisville culture, but every event becomes a fashionable event.”
Brothers also lends her time and voice to the Brain Injury Alliance of Kentucky, the HISA Jockey Mental Health Steering Committee, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, and Maryhurst, which provides counseling and transitional services for girls who have experienced trauma.
An active ambassador for horse racing, she published "Inside Track: Insider’s Guide to Horse Racing," in 2011, then updated in 2014 and again in 2020. "Inside Track: Insider’s Guide to Horse Racing," is a friendly primer on how to spend a day at the races — from what to wear to how to watch a race unfold.
Away from the track, Brothers is happiest outdoors and the place she’s eager to spend more time after she retires.
Snow skiing, hiking and cycling are priorities. Yoga is also high on her list. And as The Courier Journal learned firsthand during our “Are You as Fit as a Jockey?” feature, she remains in remarkable shape, demonstrating the strength and stamina required to ride at the highest level.
“I am really looking forward to spending more time outdoors and less time in front of a computer,” she said. “I think that is going to be a wonderful change.”
Brothers married former thoroughbred trainer Frank Brothers in 1998, and with her mother and sister, both former jockeys living in Louisville, retirement promises more time with family and friends.
“I feel like I’ve been really, really lucky,” she said. “But even good things have to come to an end.”
Reach features reporter Kirby Adams at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: NBC analyst Donna Brothers to cover her final Kentucky Derby in 2026