Again, this is what they think of you
It’s been a while since I’ve owned racehorses, and it probably will continue. This latest “New Owner of the Year” stunt from The Jockey Club marketing machine (I’m being nice) does more than just smell. It’s downright insulting to the people who actually keep this sport alive, the real owners and the gamblers. For years I’ve been writing and saying that racing doesn’t know who their customer is, nor where their bread is buttered.
Let’s get the facts straight. OwnerView is owned by The Jockey Club. America’s Best Racing (ABR) is also owned by The Jockey Club. Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds is on the board of The Jockey Club. Apparently, Terry donates micro-shares of a horse to social media influencer Griffin Johnson, then turns around and names him “New Owner of the Year.” You can’t make this up. It’s a masterclass in self-promotion disguised as a prize – a marketing loop masquerading as an honor. Johnson has a 2.5% stake in a colt named Sandman (by Tapit), through ABR’s ‘A Stake in Stardom’ initiative. I wonder how many struggling gamblers got something from ABR or West Point, even a cup of coffee.
A trophy for optics, not for ownership
This isn’t a knock on Griffin Johnson. I know next to nothing about him, and if he really loves the sport, great. But let’s not pretend this is an ownership feat. He didn’t deposit the money. He didn’t take the risk. He paid no vet bills, training bills or insurance premiums. He had no role in the game whatsoever; he was given a 2.5% share as part of a PR initiative and was crowned for it.
Meanwhile, real owners are grinding here. They lose money on yearlings, pay daily rates above $150, see horses they spent six figures on go to the sidelines and deal with everything from rising costs to shrinking wallets. And what do they get for that? A back row seat as the governing body awards its own paid influencer the prize intended to celebrate the people who actually foot the bill.
If you’re a serious owner, this doesn’t just look bad. It’s disrespectful. It’s insulting and this is what they think about you.
The conflict that no one even tries to hide
The Jockey Club runs the show: the registration, the rules, the messaging and now apparently the prizes. They own the marketing department (ABR). They choose the influencer (ABR ambassador). They create the ownership program (OwnerView). They then present an award to one of their own promotional faces.
If that sounds like a conflict of interest, that’s because it is.
It’s one thing to market the game. It’s another to hijack the story, blur the lines and pretend it’s all organic and grassroots.
And the worst? They think people won’t notice. They assume that the main owners and gamblers – the ones who actually put money into the system – are too quiet or dejected to care. Wrong. Some of us still have a voice. And we will use it.
Gamblers and owners: the forgotten pillars
Here’s the truth that no one in the boardrooms wants to admit: the only two groups that put money into this sport are the owners and the gamblers. Everyone else – from the radio, to the media departments, to the alphabet soup of organizations – lives off that money.
Yet it is the owners and gamblers who consistently receive the least say, the least respect and the least credit.
The CAW Syndicates can crash the odds with milliseconds to post, and the Breeders’ Cup and big numbers still roll out the red carpet for them. The retail gambler cannot get a fair shake or consistent transparency on the odds movements. Owners cannot get clear communication or unified leadership on medication rules, scheduling, or wallet structures. But we have time to give awards to a TikTok influencer? Is that the sector’s priority?
If that isn’t the definition of disconnect, I don’t know what is.
The marketing miracle
The Jockey Club will tell you this is about ‘growing the game’. But are they really growing anything – or are they just chasing power?
Show me the numbers. Are Griffin Johnson’s millions of followers signing up for ownership syndicates? Want to buy yearlings? Even place $2 bets? Of course not.
This isn’t ‘growing the game’. A social media bubble is being inflated to make the people above feel innovative, while the sport’s base – the gamblers, the breeders, the owners – continues to shrink. Foal production has fallen again. Handle does not grow. And the Breeders’ Cup ratings hit another low. That’s the real scoreboard.
But instead of facing it, they’d rather point to TikTok’s engagement stats and pretend the sport is in good hands.
The Breeders’ Cup and the bigger picture
This year’s Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar featured world-class racing and star performances, but the underlying numbers told a different story. Ratings dropped. The gambling public continues to lose confidence. And again, the most loyal customers – the ones who actually fund the game – are being squeezed.
As everyday gamblers fight against CAW manipulation and real owners watch the economy collapse, the industry’s leadership hands itself awards for “marketing innovation.” It’s like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic and posting them on Instagram. Where is Nero?
Old school reality check
The bottom line: this sport will not be saved by influencers, hashtags or PR prizes. It will be saved by people who care enough to invest, bet and speak out. The same people who have always done that.
The Jockey Club, ABR and their surrounding media partners must remember that respect is not something that can be achieved in a boardroom. It’s deserved. And if you don’t respect the real lifeblood of the game – the owners and gamblers – you grow nothing. You’ll burn credibility that you may never get back.
Until that changes, this latest award will be a symbol of everything wrong with race leadership: tone-deaf, conflicted and complacent.
And the rest of us? We will continue to do what we have always done: put our own money, take the risk and keep the game alive. Because at the end of the day, we know what ownership really means. And it’s not a 2.5% gift from a PR campaign.
By Jon Stett
Past the Wire – Horse racing uncensored and unfiltered, dissected and delivered
“Nobody does it better. Often imitated, never duplicated.”
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