In his first year as President and CEO of the Breeders' Cup, 38-year-old Drew Fleming has found himself trying to stage a global event in the midst of a global pandemic. In a socially-distanced phone call with TDN Publisher Sue Finley, he discusses the challenges and the triumphs of Breeders' Cup 2020.
SF: You picked a heck of a year for this to be your first Breeders' Cup.
DF: Well, this is my first Breeders' Cup as the CEO, but I've been working for the company since 2016. And then I was a lawyer for a couple of years prior to that. But I am very fortunate to have a fantastic team, as well as a great board. And we've all been in lockstep and it's been great team building, morale is great, and we're excited to have Breeders' Cup very shortly and showcase the best racing in the world.
SF: I'm sure it's going to be hard to pick just one, but what has been the most challenging thing about organizing the event this year?
DF: We're very lucky that Keeneland is our host track partner, because they're about 10 miles from our office, and they've been fantastic teammates. But every single aspect of the World Championships we've had to reevaluate and make sure that we're doing things within COVID protocols. We're consulting with physicians, infectious disease specialist Richard Greenberg, and local and state government officials to make sure that we do everything by the book and that we put the health and safety of our fans first and foremost, which has caused us to reevaluate pretty much everything. And while it's taken a lot of time and effort, obviously it's very important to do things right.
SF: Was there ever time in the late summer or early fall, you saw other events opening up to fans, and thought, “Maybe we can have fans”?
DF: Yes. It was a very sad decision to make. And we held out as long as we could, because our fans are the backbone of the business. They bring so much excitement and energy to the races, and it's not a decision that anyone wants to make. But knowing that many of our fans travel from all over the United States and around the world, we needed to be fair to them and make the announcement when we did so that they could have time to readjust accordingly. But also I think that was another driving force for Breeders' Cup returning to Keeneland in 2022. Because we wanted to be fair to the fans that had bought tickets, and we gave them a refund and they have the right to purchase those similar seats for 2022. But also the local community and the central Kentucky breeders, because we wanted to come back as soon as we could to be as fair to them so that they could see the Breeders' Cup in its full glory.
But one thing that I'm really proud of as a company is that we've doubled down our efforts in innovation and technology, knowing it was more likely we wouldn't have fans. We spent a lot of time and effort and investment to make sure that at-home experience is world-class. This year we're going to have the most robust onsite production for a horse racing event ever. NBC will have up to 80 cameras for their coverage.
We're also going to have two jockey cams during the two days. It will give fans an increased access to views of the racetrack in the pack. From a digital side, we have done a multicast new video player on breederscup.com that really puts the fans in control of that viewing experience. And part of that will include up to 14 live streams, and this is really, I think, specifically important for the betting public. So by the time the horses enter the paddock and they walk to the starting gate, you'll be able to see a second screen experience. You can go to breederscup.com/live and be able to watch all those horses and specific ones that you have a particular interest in. So while you might not be there in person, we're trying to replicate as much of that in person experience as possible.
SF: You'll have all of the 14 cameras up on your screen and you can choose which ones to watch?
DF: Yes. So you could watch, if you like the one horse and the five horse, you could just pick the two of those and watch those exclusively from the paddock to the starting gate, or you could put up all 14. Because we know with betters they like to look at the horses in the paddock, how they're acting, and so we wanted to take that experience at home. And it's never been done before and we're pumped about it.
SF: That's really cool.
DF: It's really neat. We're encouraging people to watch both NBC and the multicast video player, and that's why we call it the second screen. We've got extensive television coverage (Friday Nov. 6 from 2-5:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, Saturday Nov. 7 from 12-2:30 on NBCSN, and NBC from 2:30-5:30).and NBC has been great partners. We have the back cam, which will be a camera that goes up to 100 miles per hour on the backstretch. And we've all doubled down and are really investing in this product to make it right for the fans that can't be here.
SF: The last time the Breeders' Cup was in Lexington, in 2015, there was such an electric atmosphere, with downtown and the restaurants packed with fans. What is it like to be there now?
DF: Well, we know the size and the scope of the Breeders' Cup is certainly going to be different. And some of the parties that we were able to do in 2015 aren't possible this year because we're putting safety first. But there's still a definite buzz of energy, because we do know the best horses from all over the world are coming, and there will definitely be world-class racing. I think everybody is excited. Unfortunately, most will be watching from home, but nonetheless, the world will be watching central Kentucky.
And we should all be proud as an industry that we're able to do this. The resiliency of our sport is incredible. We're so thankful to the breeders, the nominators, the participants from around the world that have supported this event. And thanks to our board and nominators we were able to keep the purses at $31 million. And I think it's a testament to racing that we had 201 horses pre-enter, which tied for the second highest in the history of the Breeders' Cup. We have 39 international horses pre-entered despite travel challenges. And we've also had 48 Challenge winners that will be here and five returning champs. So this racing is going to be top top-notch, and we're really excited about it.
SF: How has COVID impacted participants who are coming to this from abroad?
DF: I know some of the European trainers said on a call a couple of days ago that they won't be coming in person, but they're sending their team. And I think some owners obviously will be coming and some won't be. But for our owners that aren't able to come, we're sending a care package to them where we've partnered with Blackberry Farm. They have a really neat picnic basket filled with a bunch of goods so that they can have their own Breeders' Cup party at home.
SF: You took over this role at the Breeders' Cup just a few days after the Mongolian Groom tragedy last year. How much of your early tenure was consumed by that, and what additional measures have you added this year to provide the safest environment possible?
DF: We always spend a lot time ensuring that we have extensive safety and integrity protocols. And those were in place during the last World Championships, but we're always continuing to enhance those. And we worked with Dr. Larry Bramlage, who had an independent thorough investigation, and that investigation was transparent that we published to the public. And in that investigation, Dr. Bramlage came up with six recommendations that we have adopted. And so we continue to place a major focus on safety and we'll continue to work with the best vets in the world, have the most stringent protocols in place to make sure that we have the most safest racing possible.
SF: You're probably too young for this, but they used to say in the Peace Corps commercials, “It's the toughest job you'll ever love.” Do you ever feel that way, especially this year?
DF: I wake up every morning and excited and energized for the day and looking to do what's best. We're thankful to our nominators and breeders, because it's been a trying year for all of us, and without them, their support, this wouldn't be possible. And this is, again, the World Championships and we're so excited for the industry to come together to showcase the best product in the world.
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