Chris Francis:
Whether it’s real estate, booze and even pokemon cards.
Actors, singers, professional athletes and influencers have been diversifying their portfolios to keep revenue streams flowing after they’re out of the limelight.
In recent years, the rich and famous are seen populating the owners boxes of the nation’s most prestigious horsetracks. “take MLB World Series champion Jayson Werth, whose horse Dornoch won the 2024 Belmont Stakes.”
The idea of celebs getting in on the action isn’t all that new.
Just look at Del Mar Race Track in southern California.
Joe Harper:
“Del Mar is a product of Hollywood.”
Chris Francis:
We caught up with Joe Harper, the CEO of Del Mar Race Track,
where uber famous horses have raced including Seabiscuit
and Triple crown winner American Pharoah.
Joe Harper:
“it was born from Hollywood back in the 30s. Santa Anita started off, and some of the guys down here in Del Mar that were on vacation, like Bing Crosby and all the old Hollywood types thought maybe this would be a good spot for a racetrack. And so Bing, and put together some of his Hollywood pals and and put some money up and started up and built the racetrack.
a lot of the horse owners in that day were, were actors, some of them the producers, you know, they all, they all kind of had horses and and ran them at at San Diego Hollywood Park, and then del Mar as well.
Chris Francis:
Harper has made a career in horse racing, which he says is “probably the greatest job in the world,” but he got his start in Hollywood too.
Joe Harper:
My grandfather was the director of Cecil B DeMille. I was in a couple of his pictures. Played a circus boy at age, I think I was seven years old, and then 11 years old, I was a Hebrew slave, went to Egypt on location.
Chris Francis:
Sure big names like Director Stephen Spielberg and Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce have been part of ownership groups. The sport’s reach goes all the way to royalty.
Joe Harper:
we have the Breeders Cup coming here two years in a row. We’ve and that draws people from all over the world, sheiks and princes and all that. So that’s it gets a lot of publicity,
Chris Francis:
The total purse for the Kentucky Derby is around $5 million, while the Preakness and Belmont come in around $2 million.
That may not be chump change but it’s a far cry from getting a big payout with other ventures like Ryan Reynolds did for his stake in Mint Mobile which sold for $1.35 billion in May of 2024.
Joe Harper:
you want good, well bred horses, in part is in Kentucky, and so you can spend anywhere from 10 to 200,000 that depends you know what your wallet looks Like and how much you want to get involved.
I think it takes two things, luck and money. Probably the first one I said, is probably the most important.
Chris Francis:
At this year’s Kentucky Derby, which annually kicks off the sport’s triple crown, Social media star Griffin Johnson, who boasts nearly 10 million followers on TikTok, was part of a team that owns Sandman, the horse that finished seventh.
Meanwhile, Render Judgment, which finished close to the end of the pack, is owned by Dream Walkin Farms, started by late country music star Toby Keith.
Sandman finished third at the preakness, but won’t run in the final race of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes.
But the race won’t be without a high profile owner, celebrity chef Bobby Flay’s horse, Crudo, is slated to start the race.
Joe Harper:
you look at the big Triple Crown races, of course, but you know, that’s a lot of publicity, nationwide coverage that’s kind of a magnet for a lot of, a lot of the entertainment people from Hollywood.
It’s good for them. It’s good for racing, too.
Chris Francis:
Good for NFL star Rob Gronkowski too. His horse finished second in the 2018 Belmont stakes against the odds…
And speaking of that.. Crudo, the son of triple crown winner Justify, currently has 15-1 odds in the Belmont, third worst in the field of 8 horses.
If Flay’s horse happens to win, that’s a nice pay day along with another dose of credibility for the celebrity crowd. If he doesn’t, you can bet Flay will be eager to return with another contender soon.
For Straight Arrow News, I’m Chris Francis