By Sue Finley
An event to announce the team owners, names, colors and logos for the six National Thoroughbred League teams promised the assembled crowd at Hudson Yards in Manhattan to do racing in a new and different way, and at least on this night, they delivered.
The evening featured a fashion show—not of the racing silks or owners—but for the horses. Two horses brought into the city from Long Island showed off the six team colors and logos in compression suits, compression hoods and paddock blankets, parading up and down in the Public Square and Gardens of Hudson Yards.
But while the horses were the stars of the evening, there were human celebrities as well, including New York Giants outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, one of the owners of the New York Knights, one of the six NTL teams. Trainer Jena Antonucci, fresh off her history-making Belmont Stakes win, was also on hand to greet well-wishers.
“I think it's super exciting, one, being a player, two, now being a part of a league,” said Thibodeaux, explaining his involvement in the NTL. “My little sister has been riding horses for a while, so I told her I did this for her. And being able to bring a different look, bring some new ideas and just a whole new perspective, one, to horse racing and, two, to my own life and the people that follow me. So I'm super excited. I think it'll be amazing.”
The NTL concept was introduced May 23, the brainchild of Randall Lane, the chief content officer for Forbes, and Bob Daugherty, an investor and educator. Set to launch on Sept. 2, the league will consist of six teams representing six cities. League races will take place on five weekends, points will be accrued in the races and the team that has the most points when the season ends on Dec. 31 at Tampa Bay Downs will win $1 million.
Horses in compression suits peaked the curiosity of onlookers in Manhattan Tuesday night at the NTL launch event | Sue Finley photo
Each of the six teams were represented Tuesday night in Manhattan by all or part of their ownership groups.
The New York Knights will be owned by Thibodeaux and Lane, who were both on hand. The California Shamrocks will be owned by Daugherty and partners. Other teams revealed were the Nashville Dreams, the Philadelphia Stallions, the New Jersey Royals, and the Seattle Gems.
The emcee for the night, longtime racing t.v. executive Billy Rapaport, a member of the NTL's advisory group, said that the NTL was designed to promote fan loyalty.
“It's about building not only awareness, but building rooting interest,” he said. “So you're going to root for your team from your hometown, you're going to root for your team from your home state. And we're going to build this around not only the fan loyalty, but about the fan experience because the NTL is not just about racing. It will be great racing and team racing, but it will be all about the festive, fun, great events that surround the NTL. So it's a weekend of concerts, music, fashion, fun, food, all the things that you would expect from high-level top-shelf entertainment, but we also have a little horse racing going on, too. And that's exciting for us, especially for people like myself who've been around the sport for so long to see new ideas come to the fore, but also to know that we're going to get some new people to come try this sport out for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.”
NTL Co-founder Randall Lane | Sue Finley photo
Said Lane of his involvement, “This is a big night. My father and my grandfather were horsemen. My grandfather spent 50 years going to the track, and the reason he went is because he loved he loved the animals, he loved the horses, he loved the athletes, and he cared about them. That's very, very important to us. So safety and protecting our athletes is paramount to everything we do at the National Thoroughbred League.
“We have an independent chief safety officer who will be in charge of the horses' wellbeing,” he continued. “And it is their job to make sure the horses are ready to race, so it's not the owners' decision for the team, it's not the trainer's decision, it's the central league's. The chief safety officer will have a whole panel of veterinarians to decide which horses are fit. So we think that adds an extra layer because the thing that's most paramount to this league is that we celebrate our stars, we celebrate our teams, and that starts with keeping our stars safe and healthy. So that's what we're here announcing today.”
Lane said the NTL would also partner with the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance to ensure that all of the NTL horses had post-racing homes, and with the Jockeys Guild.
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