NBC Plans to Cover Derby ... and its Related Stories

The voice of NBC Sports' most prestigious events had a stern warning for Thoroughbred racing on an April 30 teleconference previewing the network's coverage of Kentucky Derby (G1) 150.

Mike Tirico, the voice of Sunday Night Football and the anchor for NBC's Olympics coverage, made the comments in response to a question whether coverage this weekend would focus on Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Muth , who is excluded from the Derby. That suspension exclusion is in place because Muth is trained by Bob Baffert, who remains suspended at Churchill Downs in the aftermath of the medication violation disqualification of 2021 first-place finisher Medina Spirit.

"Look, we have spent hours upon hours over the last two-plus years on all of our racing shows discussing these various situations, whether it's the incidents that have happened, the legal followings, how that has played out in the judicial process, our thoughts on the decisions, the state of horse racing, all of that," Tirico said.

Absent new ground to cover, "I don't know that that's the best use of our time at this point," Tirico said. " ... Go back and watch last year, and we make some very direct and pointed comments on the sport, the state of the sport, and candidly nothing has changed. I'll stand on my statement last year that, if the people who are the major stakeholders don't get their act together, this sport is not going to continue to grow. It's seen stunted growth over the last few years that will only continue."

Producer Lindsay Schanzer said the Muth situation will be acknowledged, but not at length.

"The reason for that is because he's (Baffert) not in the race, and the horse isn't in the race," she said. "It's our job to inform the audience about the horses that are in the race and what they should be paying attention to when their Derby actually happens. From a production perspective, that's what we'll be focused on."

The NBC crew also responded to a question about whether they've had to deal with the oddest five years in Kentucky Derby history with two disqualifications (Maximum Security  , for interference, and Medina Spirit), the COVID Derby in September 2020, Rich Strike 's upset win, and a number of scratches last year.

"Every year looking into this, we say, 'Oh, is this the year it's going to be a normal Derby?'," Schanzer said. "I'm not really sure what that looks like anymore. It's going to be whatever it's going to be. We'll be ready for it."

Horseback reporter Donna Brothers said Rich Strike's upset is the only oddity about that Derby.

"I wasn't able to interview the winning jockey when Rich Strike won the Kentucky Derby," Brothers said. "That was peculiar. That has never happened to me in the course of covering races at any point ever because Rich Strike was really wound up after the race and just really not very, very calm. So we weren't able to approach him."

Tirico said the unpredictability is good television.

"It's a day that's unique," he said. "It's a day that is massive. It's a day that you know, when you leave the hotel in the darkness of the morning, you're going to see something that you probably haven't seen before and may not see again. That makes it fun to get to Derby Day. It makes the buildup all the more enjoyable.

"Then we usually walk off the set at 7:30 and just shake our heads and say, 'Did that really happen?' That's fun. That's why sports is the best drama going, and the Derby has delivered it in spades the last five years."