Celebrities owning thoroughbreds is part of horse racing history

Whether it's real estate, booze, or 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 owner's boxes of the nation's most prestigious horse racing tracks. Take MLB World Series champion

Jason Wirth, whose horse Dornuk won the 2024 Belmont Stakes. And Luis Siles to win the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga

The idea of celebs getting in on the action isn't all that new

Just look at Del Mar Racetrack in Southern California. Del Mar is a product of Hollywood

We caught up with Joe Harper, the CEO of Del Mar Racetrack, where uber famous horses have raced

including Seabiscuit and Triple Crown winner, American Pharaoh. It was born from Hollywood, back in the 30s

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 put together some of his Hollywood pals and put some money up and started and built the racetrack

A lot of the horse owners in that day were actors, some of them the producers

you know, they all kind of had horses and ran them at San Eda Hollywood Park and then Del Mar as well

Harper's 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. My grandfather was the director of Cecil B. DeMille

I was in a couple of his pictures. I 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

Sure, big names like director Steven Spielberg and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelsey have been part of ownership groups

The sport's reach goes all the way to royalty. We have the Breeders Cup coming here two years in a row and that draws people from all over the world sheiks and princes and all that So that gets a lot of publicity The total purse for the Kentucky Derby is around million while the Preakness and Belmont come in around 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. Obviously, you want good, well-bred horses

The main part is in Kentucky. And so you can spend anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000

It depends 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

At this year's Kentucky Derby, which annually kicks off the sports 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 Rendered Judgment which finished close to the end of the pack is owned by Dream Walkin Farms started by the 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. But the race won't be

without a high-profile owner. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay's horse, Crudo, is slated to start the race

You look at the big Triple Crown races, of course, but, you know, that's a lot of publicity

uh nationwide coverage uh um that's kind of a magnet for a lot of uh a lot of the entertainment

people from hollywood it's good for them it's good for racing too good for nfl star rob gronkowski

too his horse finished second in the 2018 belmont against the odds and speaking of that crudo the

son of triple crown winner justify currently has 15 to 1 odds in the belmont third worst in the

field of eight horses. If Flay's horse happens to win, that's a nice payday, 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