Context:

The 2025 Kentucky Derby broadcast on NBC will be led by Mike Tirico and feature a star-studded team, including Larry Collmus, who will set a record by announcing his 15th consecutive Derby. Collmus began his horse racing announcing career at 18 and took over as NBC's primary announcer in 2011. The broadcast team includes analysts like Randy Moss and Eddie Olczyk, with Moss being a renowned horse racing expert and Olczyk a former NHL player. NBC will also feature veteran reporters like Kenny Rice and Donna Barton Brothers, who will interview the winning jockey, and Steve Kornacki, known for his data analysis. The Kentucky Derby is scheduled for May 2, with coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET and the race starting at 6:57 p.m. ET.

Dive Deeper:

• NBC will broadcast the Kentucky Derby for the 25th consecutive year, having taken over from ABC in 2001, and has become a mainstay in horse racing coverage. The 2025 broadcast will feature familiar faces from previous Derbies and other NBC sports events.

• Larry Collmus will make history as he calls his 15th consecutive Kentucky Derby, surpassing the previous record held by Dave Johnson. Collmus started his announcing career at a young age and became NBC's lead announcer in 2011.

• Mike Tirico will lead the Derby coverage as host, a role he has held since 2017, taking over from Tom Hammond. He will be joined by Rebecca Lowe, known for her Premier League coverage on NBC.

• The analyst team includes Randy Moss, a top horse racing analyst at NBC since 2011, and Eddie Olczyk, a former NHL player who joins the Derby coverage during the Triple Crown season. Jerry Bailey, a Hall-of-Fame jockey, provides insights from his racing experience.

• NBC's reporting team includes experienced horse racing journalists Kenny Rice and Donna Barton Brothers, with Barton Brothers conducting the first interview with the winning jockey. Ahmed Fareed and Steve Kornacki will also be part of the coverage, with Kornacki lending his expertise in data analysis.

• The Kentucky Derby in 2025 will take place on May 2, with NBC's coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET and the race itself scheduled to start at 6:57 p.m. ET. The event marks the beginning of the Triple Crown season.

• Daniel Chavkin, a digital content producer for The Sporting News and a University of Maryland graduate, has previously contributed to outlets like Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports. He provides insights into the Derby's significance and coverage details.

• On Saturday, the Kentucky Derby will kick off Triple Crown season as the race prepares for its 151st running.

• Once again, NBC will be on the call at Churchill Downs, as has been the case for the past 25 years. The network took over Kentucky Derby duties from ABC in 2001 and has become a staple in the world of horse racing.

• This year's broadcast crew features a lot of familiar faces from both past Kentucky Derbies and other NBC broadcasts. Here's who NBC will be featuring on their Kentucky Derby coverage.

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• Kentucky Derby announcers 2025

  NBC will have four different layers of their Kentucky Derby broadcast.

• Announcer	Larry Collmus
  Hosts	Mike Tirico, Rebecca Low
  Analysts	Randy Moss, Jerry Bailey, Eddie Olczyk, Matt Bernier
  Reporters	Kenny Rice, Donna Barton Brothers, Ahmed Fareed, Britney Eurton, Nick Luck, Dylan Dreyer and Steve Kornacki

  Announcer

  Collmus will be making history on Saturday, calling his 15th consecutive Kentucky Derby for NBC, surpassing Dave Johnson for the most consecutive calls in Kentucky Derby history. He first began calling horse racing in 1985 at the age of 18 and worked his way up to becoming the voice of the Breeders' Cup.

• In 2011, Collmus took over for Tom Durkin as NBC's primary horse racing announcer, and he has held that role ever since.

• Announcing milestone coming this weekend: Larry Collmus will set the record of most consecutive Kentucky Derby's called this weekend, with his 15th in a row on NBC, breaking the tie with Dave Johnson, who called it from 1987-2000 on ABC (Johnson also called the race from 1978-80) pic.twitter.com/9um5zg3Kmu

• — Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) April 28, 2025

  Hosts

  Tirico will once again lead the festivities as the host, which he has been doing since 2017 when he took over for Tom Hammond. He will be hosting the Derby alongside Rebecca Lowe, who primarily works for NBC in the network's Premier League coverage.

• Analysts

  As for the analysts, the two notable names are Randy Moss and Eddie OIczyk. Moss, who shares a name with the former NFL wide receiver, is one of the premier horse racing analysts in the industry and has been working for NBC since 2011. Olczyk, meanwhile, is the former NHL player who typically broadcasts NHL games, but takes a detour to assist with horse-racing coverage during Triple Crown season.

• Additionally, Bailey is a retired jockey who provides analysis from the unique position of having been a jockey in the Triple Crown races. He is a horse racing Hall-of-Famer and has won each leg of the Triple Crown twice, including the Kentucky Derby in 1993 and 1996.

• Reporters

  NBC will have a variety of reporters at Churchill Downs, with horse racing veterans Kenny Rice and Donna Barton Brothers leading the way. Barton Brothers in particular usually gets the first interview with the winning jockey immediately after the race.

• NBC veteran Ahmed Fareed will also lend a hand, including during the trophy presentation with Rebecca Lowe. Another notable name is Steve Kornacki, the data scientist who gained notoriety through his political polling work on MSNBC.

• When is the Kentucky Derby 2025?

  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.