NBC’s Donna Barton Brothers to retire after Preakness
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Donna Barton Brothers, the former jockey who has been the ontrack reporter for NBC during its Kentucky Derby coverage for the past 26 years, will retire from the role after NBC’s Triple Crown coverage this year.
Barton Brothers, who collected 1,130 wins over an 11-year riding career, has been the only person to work on all 26 of NBC’s Derby broadcasts. The network took over from ABC in 2000.
On a Tuesday conference call organized by NBC to discuss its Derby coverage, Barton Brothers said that she turned 60 this year and that she had not expected to work this long in television following her retirement from the saddle in 1998. She joined NBC two years later.
“It’s been 26 years, and it has been such a fun ride and I’m very grateful for every bit of it,” Barton Brothers said. “But I turned 60 this year, and 60 seemed like a nice round number.”
On horseback, Barton conducts the post-race interviews with riders just after they pass the winning post, and she also conducts interviews with people connected to Derby horses during the walkover. She is one of the most recognizable faces and voices on the NBC team.
During her remarks on the conference call, Barton Brothers thanked Charlsie Cantey for acting as a role model. Cantey performed a similar role during ABC’s coverage of racing during the 1990s.
“I never thought I would have the privilege and the honor to follow in her footsteps,” Barton Brothers said.
Mike Tirico, the anchor of the Derby broadcast who is NBC’s lead announcer for a variety of sports, thanked Barton Brothers for her commitment and said that she had become an icon in the broadcast world.
“It’s rare you get to work with someone who comes to define a role in sports television, and Donna has done that,” Tirico said.
NBC will broadcast the second race of the Triple Crown, the May 16 Preakness Stakes, but the third leg, the Belmont Stakes, will be broadcast by FOX Sports.
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