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Donna Brothers has been an integral part of NBC\u2019s Kentucky Derby coverage since it acquired the rights to the race in 2001.<\/p>\n
From speaking to trainers and owners on the walkover to the paddock to interviewing the winning jockey on horseback, Brothers has been front and center for some of the most emotional moments of NBC\u2019s horse racing coverage.<\/p>\n
Saturday will be Brothers\u2019 final Run for the Roses. She decided two years ago that this would be her last year, but did not announce it publicly until last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told Lindsay Schanzer, our producer, that I definitely wanted to make it to Kentucky Derby 151 because that would be my 25th Kentucky Derby. But if I had my druthers, I would also like to make it to Derby 152 because then I\u2019ll be 60 years old and I\u2019ll feel like I\u2019ve earned the right to retire,\u201d said Brothers, who turned 60 on April 22. \u201cAnd so now I have two careers behind me. I retired from being a jockey in 1998.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of people, when I tell \u2019em I\u2019m going to retire, they seem sad for me. And they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, I know you\u2019re going to miss it.\u2019 And I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to be the case. I\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brothers is a former jockey who won 1,130 races during her 11-year career. She joined NBC in 2000 for Breeders\u2019 Cup coverage and has been part of the network\u2019s Triple Crown coverage. NBC has had the Preakness Stakes since 2001 and the Belmont Stakes from 2001-05 and 2011-22.<\/p>\n
She was the first to interview jockeys Victor Espinoza aboard American Pharaoh in 2015 and Mike Smith on Justify three years later, after they won the Triple Crown.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery rarely do you get to work in TV with people who define a role in sports television, and Donna has done that,\u201d said Mike Tirico, who will anchor NBC\u2019s coverage. \u201cThe immediate reaction Donna gets race after race, and her observations are such a unique part of what we do in television. And she is one of a kind. Somebody will follow her but will not replace her because she\u2019s irreplaceable.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to favorite Derby winner interviews, Brothers said Calvin Borel\u2019s aboard Street Sense in 2007 still stands out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really want to capture what\u2019s in their heart rather than 10 minutes later what\u2019s in their head. And so the ones that stand out the most are the ones that are heartfelt,\u201d she said. \u201cAnyone who saw Calvin win his first Derby, I think, touched everyone\u2019s heart who saw it. And then later that week, he was invited to the White House, and the Queen (Elizabeth II) was in attendance, and so she witnessed his Derby win. As I threw it back to Tom Hammond, I said, \u2018You can see a very emotional win for Calvin Borel as the tears are streaming down his face.\u2019 And Tom told me that they hadn\u2019t zoomed in until I said that. The director was obviously listening, and they zoomed in and picked up that emotion. And I think it made everybody feel that same emotion with and for Calvin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brothers has also viewed some of the Derby\u2019s worst moments. She was near the second turn when she saw Eight Belles go down in 2008. The filly broke both her front ankles shortly after crossing the finish line in second place and was euthanized on the track.<\/p>\n
Brothers still gets emotional when reflecting on that day, as well as second-guessing the interview she did with jockey Kent Desormeaux aboard Derby winner Big Brown.<\/p>\n
\u201cKent was also upset, and I just said, \u2018OK, let\u2019s try to shake it off and concentrate on the fact that you just won the Kentucky Derby.\u2019 And I\u2019m not sure if that was the right thing to do. In hindsight, it might\u2019ve been better to let him address that first, but we didn\u2019t know her status at that time, and we didn\u2019t know it well enough to report on her status,\u201d she said. \u201cIn any event, it was challenging because you\u2019re simultaneously heartbroken for the horse that\u2019s on the track. And also simultaneously very happy for this person who just won the Kentucky Derby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brothers is still happy to see jockeys Mike Smith and John Velazquez competing, but also noted that it is a good time for her to walk away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s just time to pass the baton. It\u2019s been an awfully fun ride. But I\u2019m also looking forward to not being in front of the computer for five or six hours a day and doing all the research,\u201d Brothers said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to being outside an awful lot, whether that\u2019s hiking or biking or stand-up paddleboarding or golfing, I think it\u2019s just the right time for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n