Well-deserved! Lexington’s Tom Hammond awarded Special Eclipse for career excellence
NTRA press release. Keeneland photo of three broadcast legends (from left): Larry Conley, Dick Enberg and Tom Hammond
LEXINGTON, Ky. (January 18, 2024) – The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) today announced that Tom Hammond, whose dynamic career of more than 50 years in broadcasting, television production, and numerous contributions to the Thoroughbred industry, will be honored with the Special Eclipse Award for Career Excellence at the 53rdAnnual Eclipse Awards Dinner and Ceremony at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on Thursday, January 25.
A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Hammond has enjoyed a much honored and remarkable career as one of the nation’s top broadcasters, most prominently as host and anchor for NBC Sports’ broadcasts of the Triple Crown races and Breeders’ Cup World Championships, and his coverage of 13 Olympic Games, anchoring coverage for figure skating, speed skating, track and field, and gymnastics, among other sports on his resume. He also was a play-by-play announcer on NFL games and the lead voice for Notre Dame Football on NBC.
“I have wanted to be a part of the Thoroughbred industry since I was 15 years old, though I could never have dreamed that involvement would come primarily as an announcer,” said Hammond. “The improbable nature of the Award makes it even sweeter. As I look back on my over 50-year career, I see the many opportunities that the Thoroughbred world has provided to me. No question that I consider the Career Excellence Award to be one of the most meaningful of my life.”
“We are excited for Tom to receive such well-deserved special recognition,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports. “From the 1984 Breeders’ Cup World Championships and for the next 30-plus years, Tom was a fixture on NBC Sports’ horse racing coverage, documenting the thrilling competition, and telling the memorable stories that make the sport so compelling. But whether he was on the Turn 1 set at his beloved Churchill Downs, courtside, or in the broadcast booth, what most distinguishes Tom is that he was a terrific teammate and made everyone around him better.”
Hammond’s passion for Thoroughbred racing evolved early when he earned an animal science degree from the University of Kentucky (UK), specializing in equine genetics, and developed a keen interest in Thoroughbred pedigrees. This interest followed that of his grandfather, Thomas Poe Cooper, who was a former dean of the UK College of Agriculture and a former acting president of UK.
Hammond’s broadcasting career began with WVLK Radio in Lexington, where he was news and sports director. In 1970 and for the next 10 years, he was sports director for WLEX-TV. It was at WLEX, and through Hammond Productions, he founded “The Winner’s Circle,” a half-hour weekly Thoroughbred program focused on the news and highlights of major races around the country. Hammond Productions specialized in video productions aimed at the equine industry and pioneered the use of video in the marketing of horses at the sales.
It was also during this period that Hammond began his association with Keeneland, as an announcer at its premier bloodstock auctions, and at Thoroughbred sales in 16 other states.
Hammond’s 34-year relationship with NBC Sports dates back to the network’s regional college basketball broadcasts in the late 1970s. But his big break came in 1984 when he was hired on what was intended to be a one-time-only basis as a reporter for NBC’s telecast of the inaugural Breeders’ Cup at Hollywood Park. That program turned into an annual assignment, blossoming into a wide-ranging network career. Over the next three decades, Hammond was an integral part of NBC Sports, highlighted by horse racing – covering the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes 16 times apiece, and 11 Belmont Stakes, including American Pharoah’s historic Triple Crown victory in 2015.
Hammond was a part of multiple Eclipse Award-winning programs for NBC, including the 2022 Feature-Television Eclipse for his narration of the story of Cody Dorman and his bonding with Breeders’ Cup Champion Cody’s Wish.
Said NBC Sports Racing Analyst Randy Moss: “When Tom would slide into the host chair a couple of hours before the Kentucky Derby, and ‘That Voice’ would suddenly fill the airwaves, it was a jolt of adrenaline for everyone on the telecast. It was like, “Okay, here we go!” And not only did he bring pure professionalism and experience, from a racing perspective Tom was unique: he called all those big-time sports, but as a native Kentuckian he knew the most about Thoroughbred racing.”
Among his many honors and recognitions over the years, Hammond is especially proud of receiving an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the UK in 2018. In 2000, Hammond was honored as a distinguished alumnus of UK, and the following year, he was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.
Hammond was inducted into the Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor, National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame; a recipient of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Jim McKay Award, and is a member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. He was also a Thoroughbred Club of America Honor Guest.
Hammond and his wife, Sheilagh, have a daughter, Ashley, and two sons, David and Christopher, and six grandchildren.
