Former NBC horse racing expert Bob Neumeier passes away at age 70

Bob Neumeier, the longtime analyst on Kentucky Derby telecasts for NBC, has passed away at age 70, the Boston Globe reported.

Neumeier’s wife, Michele, told the Globe her husband suffered congestive heart failure and heart disease.

NBC hired Neumeier for its Breeders’ Cup broadcast in 1990 after he won the Caesars Palace World Series of Handicapping. He remained with the network on horse racing telecasts, including the Triple Crown, through 2016.

“The decades flew by but the laughs, stories and respect goes on and on,” tweeted Lexington’s Kenny Rice, who worked as a reporter on the NBC broadcasts with Neumeier. “Bob was one of a kind. Those who knew him were the lucky ones.”

“Bob Neumeier was the consummate professional in TV, radio and as a horseplayer,” tweeted Randy Moss, who serves now as an NBC analyst on horse racing. “His knowledge and wry delivery made him a favorite of sports fans — but he was even more beloved by those who knew him or worked with him. ‘Neumy’ was one of the nicest guys in any room he inhabited.’”

Neumeier suffered a stroke in 2014, but returned to NBC broadcasts in 2015.

In Boston, Neumeier was a host at television station WEEI from 1981 through 2000.

“TV writing is such a lost art, just the writing of the story,’’ Alan Miller, who hired Neumeier in Boston, told the Globe. “And he was without a doubt, the greatest writer that this market has ever seen. He was a phenomenal writer. He could make a Celtics practice sound like Game 7 of the NBA Finals.”