It’s the 2000 Kentucky Derby, and NBC execs are at Churchill Downs observing the situation. They’re taking over ABC’s broadcasting coverage next year and are learning how things work. That’s when they spot the racing analyst for Churchill Downs, offer her a job, and the rest is history. But even then, few expected Donna Brothers to spend the next 26 years as their track reporter. Then again, as Mike Tirico once said, “No one does it better than Donna.” Unfortunately for NBC, they’ll have to find someone.

Because, as Brothers announced recently, the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby will be her last for NBC.

“It’s been 26 years, and it has been such a fun ride,” Brothers told SBJ. “I’m really grateful for every bit of it. Because of NBC Sports, I’ve had the pleasure of going to Geneva, Switzerland, to cover show jumping, and to Aachen, Germany, to cover the World Equestrian Games. The job has taken me all over the United States. But I turned 60 this year and 60 felt like a nice round number.”

Now 60, the journalist has become an iconic part of NBC’s Derby coverage. Horse-racing fans are quick to gush about her professionalism. Beyond that, Donna Brothers has become rather famous for following the race on horseback. In fact, at Churchill Downs during the Derby, she does it backwards (alongside the outside rail).

That gives Brothers the chance to interview the winning jockeys within seconds and get an immediate, sometimes even emotional, reaction from them. A prime example is her interview with jockey Calvin Borel after his first Kentucky Derby win in 2007. And as Larry Collmus said, “one of the things that Donna tries to do is make ’em cry right away”.

And that’s exactly what she did to Borel. The now 60-year-old asked the right questions, and suddenly Borel started tearing up. The emotions came pouring out as he talked about his parents not being there to see him succeed. That iconic interview set the tone for her career, showing her the kind of reporter she aspired to become.

After all, when she joined Churchill Downs as their racing analyst, Brothers had just retired as a jockey. Not just any jockey, but one of the most decorated female jockeys at the time. 

In fact, despite retiring in 1998, her career earnings still rank fourth among female jockeys, even nearly 30 years later. That, combined with her family lineage (her mother, sister, and brother were jockeys), meant that she knew exactly what to ask jockeys to get to the crux of the matter. But now, after spending her whole life on the track, Brothers wants to pass on the reins.

“When I started covering horse racing for NBC Sports, I had just stopped riding three years prior,” Brothers added. “I retired from professional riding in 1998, then started working for NBC in 2000.

“I don’t want to be there so long that all the jockeys on the racetrack never rode with me and didn’t know me as a jockey. I think it’s just time to pass the baton.”

She won’t be retiring just yet. Because while the Kentucky Derby will be her last, Donna Brothers doesn’t plan on calling it a career until after the Preakness Stakes. That will mark the end of NBC’s 2026 Triple Crown race coverage, as Fox Sports broadcasts the Belmont Stakes until 2030. But despite that, Brothers has been part of one of the most significant periods of growth for NBC, watching it all unfold.

Donna Brothers opens up on how NBC’s coverage has evolved

The 60-year-old started as an on-air interviewer at the Fair Grounds Race Course before earning a role at Churchill Downs. Then NBC hired her, and that chance encounter at the 2000 Derby had come full circle. Now, Brothers is set to retire as the only person to work on all 26 Kentucky Derby races the company has covered.

It’s a career that speaks for itself, as she has also covered a myriad of races over the years. But more importantly, Donna Brothers has been a part of an evolution at NBC. She has seen the company grow and transform over the years, especially their live coverage of the Derby.

“So much has changed since we first started in 2001,” Brothers told Blood Horse in 2025. “At that time, we thought 90 minutes to cover a two-minute race, how are we going to fill all this time?

“Now we’re on the air for seven and a half hours on Saturday, five hours on Kentucky Oaks Day, and we are still trying to figure out how we’re going to get this story in and that story in because there are so many great stories to tell.”

And for the vast majority of her races, including all three Triple Crown events, Brothers has covered them on horseback. That’s because it allows her unprecedented access to the jockeys, which only helps sharpen her coverage.

“I’m in a position to talk to the jockey right after the race, while they’re still in their heart and before they have a chance to really start to intellectualize what happened,” Brothers explained.

And as she prepares to ride off after one final Derby, Donna Brothers leaves behind an incredible legacy. One that has helped define NBC’s coverage for over two decades. It’s a fitting farewell for someone who didn’t just cover the Derby for more than 25 years; she became a part of it.