Once Again This is What They Think of You
It’s been a bit since I have owned any racehorses, and it likely will stay that way. This latest “New Owner of the Year” stunt from The Jockey Club’s marketing machine (I’m being kind) does more than just smell off. It’s flat-out insulting to the people who actually keep this sport alive, the real owners and the bettors. For years I have been writing and saying 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 sits on The Jockey Club’s board. Apparently Terry gifts 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 an award — a marketing loop masquerading as an honor. Johnson holds a 2.5% stake in a colt named Sandman (by Tapit), via ABR’s “A Stake in Stardom” initiative. I wonder how many struggling bettors were gifted anything by ABR or West Point, even a cup of coffee.
A Trophy for Optics, Not Ownership
This isn’t a knock on Griffin Johnson. I know next to nothing about him, and if he genuinely enjoys the sport, great. But let’s not pretend this is an ownership achievement. He didn’t put up the money. He didn’t take the risk. He didn’t pay vet bills, training bills, or insurance premiums. He didn’t have skin in the game — he was handed a 2.5% slice as part of a PR initiative, and then crowned for it.
Meanwhile, real owners are out here grinding. They’re losing money on yearlings, paying day rates north of $150, watching horses they’ve spent six figures on go to the sidelines, and getting hit with everything from rising costs to shrinking purses. And for that, what do they get? A back-row seat while the governing body gives its own paid influencer the award meant to celebrate the people actually footing the bill.
If you’re a serious owner, this isn’t just a bad look. It’s disrespectful. It’s insulting and this is what they think about you.
The Conflict Nobody Even Tries to Hide
The Jockey Club runs the show — the registry, the rules, the messaging, and now apparently, the awards too. They own the marketing arm (ABR). They pick the influencer (ABR ambassador). They create the ownership “program” (OwnerView). Then they hand out 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 narrative, blur the lines, and act like it’s all organic and grassroots.
And the worst part? They think people won’t notice. They assume the core owners and bettors — the ones actually putting money into the system — are too quiet or too beaten down to care. Wrong. Some of us still have a voice. And we’ll use it.
Bettors and Owners: The Forgotten Pillars
Here’s the truth nobody in the boardrooms wants to admit: the only two groups putting money into this sport are the owners and the bettors. Everyone else — from the tracks, to the media arms, to the alphabet soup of organizations — lives off that money.
Yet owners and bettors are the ones who consistently get the least say, the least respect, and the least credit.
The CAW syndicates can crash odds with milliseconds to post, and The Breeders’ Cup and major tracks still roll out the red carpet for them. The retail bettor can’t get a fair shake or consistent transparency on odds movement. Owners can’t get clear communication or unified leadership on medication rules, scheduling, or purse structures. But we’ve got time to throw awards to a TikTok influencer? That’s the industry’s priority?
If that’s not the definition of disconnected, I don’t know what is.
The Marketing Mirage
The Jockey Club will tell you this is about “growing the game.” But are they really growing anything — or just chasing clout?
Show me the numbers. Are Griffin Johnson’s millions of followers signing up for ownership syndicates? Buying yearlings? Even placing $2 bets? Of course not.
This isn’t “growing the game.” It’s inflating a social-media balloon to make the people upstairs feel like they’re being innovative while the base of the sport — the bettors, the breeders, the owners — keeps shrinking. The foal crop is down again. Handle isn’t growing. And the Breeders’ Cup television ratings just hit another low. That’s the real scoreboard.
But instead of facing it, they’d rather point to engagement metrics from TikTok and pretend the sport’s in good hands.
The Breeders’ Cup and the Bigger Picture
This year’s Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar had world-class racing and star performances, but the underlying numbers told another story. Ratings dropped. The betting public continues to lose confidence. And once again, the most loyal customers — the ones who actually fund the game — are the ones getting squeezed.
While everyday bettors are fighting CAW manipulation and real owners are watching the economics collapse, the industry’s leadership is giving itself awards for “marketing innovation.” It’s like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic and posting it to Instagram. Where’s Nero?
Old School Reality Check
Here’s the bottom line — this sport isn’t going to be saved by influencers, hashtags, or PR awards. It’s going to be saved by people who care enough to invest, bet, and speak up. The same people who always have.
The Jockey Club, ABR, and their orbiting media partners need to remember that respect isn’t something you can manufacture in a boardroom. It’s earned. And when you start disrespecting the real lifeblood of the game — the owners and bettors — you’re not growing anything. You’re burning credibility you may never get back.
Until that changes, this latest award will stand as a symbol of everything wrong with racing’s leadership: tone-deaf, conflicted, and self-congratulatory.
And the rest of us? We’ll keep doing what we’ve always done — putting our own money up, taking the risk, and keeping 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.
Jon Stettin
Past the Wire – Horse Racing Uncensored and Unfiltered, Dissected and Delivered
“Nobody Does It Better. Often Imitated, Never Duplicated.”
