Donna Barton Brothers (born April 20, 1966 in Alamogordo, New Mexico) is a former jockey who won over 1,100 horse races and now covers horse racing and other equestrian sports for NBC Sports and

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

. She is probably most recognizable for her interviews with the winning jockeys from horseback after the Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup races. She is one of the most decorated female jockeys of her time, retiring in 1998 with 1,130 career wins and still ranks second on the money list. Brothers hails from a family of riders, including both of her siblings, as well as her mother who was, in 1969, one of the first women to be licensed as a jockey. She resides in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

Career

Donna Barton's mother Patti Barton was a jockey. So were her brother and sister. Although her mother never insisted she follow the same career path, at age 21, Barton listened to an agent who said she should try being a jockey. Brothers began her professional career as a jockey in 1987. She was one of D. Wayne Lukas' first call jockeys in the 1990s and rode numerous stakes winners, at the time making her the second leading money-earner of all time among female

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

jockeys. She won 1,130 races in her career. In terms of earnings, Barton still ranks fourth among female jockeys even though she retired in 1998. Barton retired in 1998, married trainer

Frank Brothers Frank L. Brothers (born October 24, 1946, in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer from 1980 to 2009 with a career win percentage of just over 23%, winning 2,291 races, including 262 stakes winners of which 5 ...

, and then became involved in television broadcasting. Brothers started as an interviewer at the

Fair Grounds Race Course Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC. As early as 1838 Bernard de Marigny, Ju ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

then as an on-air racing analyst for Churchill Downs where she joined their other analyst, Mike Battaglia. She was "discovered" by NBC Sports in 2000 when NBC was at Churchill Downs for observation in advance of assuming

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

coverage from

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in 2001. She began working for NBC that fall doing their

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

coverage as their only reporter on horseback. She attended

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

from 2002 to 2005 but became too busy with reporting duties for NBC Sports and other networks and moved to full-time work as a reporter and racing analyst in 2005. Brothers served as a racing analyst for Churchill Downs' "Paddock Preview" show from April 1999 to November 2002. Additionally, Brothers did on-location work for TVG, a horseracing network, providing on-site reports from both Churchill Downs and the Fair Grounds from November 1999 to November 2002. She also covered Keeneland's Spring and Fall meets for TVG from 2009 to 2016. At Triple Crown races, Brothers positions herself near the starting gate for the start of the race then, for the Kentucky Derby, she rides around the track backward (along the outside rail), passing the horses who are racing, thus getting in position to be the first to interview the winning jockey. For the

Preakness Preakness may refer to: * The Preakness or Preakness Stakes, an American flat thoroughbred horse race held in Baltimore, Maryland * Preakness (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse from Preakness Stables * Preakness, New Jersey, a section of W ...

and Belmont Stakes she is also positioned behind the starting gate for the start but then follows the field into the first turn and waits for the winner on the

backstretch Backstretch refers to either: (1) the portion of an oval racetrack on the far side of the grandstand, parallel to the homestretch, or, (2) particularly in North America, the area near the racetrack where horses are stabled and the daily work of main ...

. Brothers has also covered the PBR

Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. In the U.S., PBR events have been televised on CBS and CBS Sports Network since 2012. In 2013, the ...

and the

Hambletonian Stakes The Hambletonian Stakes is a major American harness race for three-year-old trotting horses, named in honor of Hambletonian 10, a foundation sire of the Standardbred horse breed, also known as the "Father of the American Trotter." The first ...

, for NBC. She currently covers (for NBC Sports) the

World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...

, the Land Rover Kentucky Three Day show, and the NBC/NBCSN "Road to the Kentucky Derby" and "Road to the Breeders' Cup" shows. In 2011, she released the book, "''Inside Track: Inside Guide to Horse Racing''". The book was revised and released in its second edition in 2014.

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brothers, Donna Barton 1966 births Living people American female jockeys American horse racing announcers American horse racing commentators Women sports announcers American women sportswriters People from Alamogordo, New Mexico Horse trainers from Louisville, Kentucky Jockeys from Louisville, Kentucky 21st-century American women