Kentucky Derby announcers 2026: Meet NBC’s star-studded broadcast crew led by Mike Tirico

The Kentucky Derby officially kicks off Triple Crown season, with NBC broadcasting each of the first two major horse races. NBC has been the home of the Kentucky Derby since 2001, providing iconic moments in its 25 years of coverage.

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This year alone, NBC has broadcast the Super Bowl and Olympics, added NBA and MLB to its docket, and the Kentucky Derby remains a consistent staple on NBC’s sports coverage each year.

NBC has a deep roster of media personalities for the Kentucky Derby that have worked on the race many times before. Still, the network usually tinkers with its announcing lineup each year, depending on which people are available that weekend 

As the Kentucky Derby approaches, here’s who NBC will have on its broadcasting team for the race.

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Kentucky Derby announcers 2026

Announcers

Larry Collmus is the longest-running announcer in Kentucky Derby history, as he will be on the call for the 16th-straight Kentucky Derby this year. Collmus took over for Tom Durkin in 2011 for NBC and has been in the role ever since.

Collmus has been a horse-racing announcer since he was 18, and he’s called two Triple Crowns in his career: American Pharaoh in 2015 and Justify in 2018.

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Hosts

Mike Tirico has been a co-host for the Kentucky Derby since 2018. At first, he worked alongside Bob Costas, but later took over for Costas as the main host in 2019, adding horse racing to his long list of responsibilities as a sports announcer.

Rebecca Lowe’s main responsibility at NBC is on the network’s Premier League coverage, but she has been a co-host on the Kentucky Derby as well. She first started working this race in 2019, then re-joined coverage in 2022 and has been on each Kentucky Derby since.

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Analysts

NBC uses four main analysts for its coverage in horse racing. The primary analyst is Randy Moss, a veteran horse-racing analyst who has been with the network since 2011 and shares a name with the former NFL wide receiver. Besides Moss, the other familiar name is Eddie Olczyk, a former hockey player and current hockey analyst who has a passion for horse-racing on the side.

NBC’s other two analysts for the Kentucky Derby are Jerry Bailey and Matt Bernier. Bailey is a retired jockey who provides analysis from the jockey point of view, as he won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes twice each in his career. Bernier, meanwhile, focuses on data analysis.

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Reporters

NBC employs a variety of reporters for the Kentucky Derby to report on different aspects of the race. Kenny Rice and Donna Barton Brothers are veteran horse-racing reporters, with Barton Brothers typically interviewing the winning jockey after the race.

Additionally, this will be Barton Brothers’ final Kentucky Derby as a reporter after 26 years in the role.

Other notable names are Ahmed Fareed, who works on a variety of sports for NBC, and John Fanta, a basketball announcer and analyst who will work on his first Kentucky Derby this year. Data scientist Steve Kornacki has also lent a hand each year since 2021.

When is the Kentucky Derby 2026?

The Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 2, with the race scheduled to begin at around 6:57 p.m. ET. NBC’s coverage, however, will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET, taking viewers through the race.

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