Fanatics Exec VP/Business Affairs GARY GERTZOG will be attending his first Kentucky Derby this weekend thanks to the company’s new multiyear deal with Churchill Downs to exclusively operate both online and on-site retail for the event. He said, “Our schedule for Saturday is still coming together, but I will get there as early as I am told to get there. We will definitely be touring the grounds with key execs from our company along with other people that worked on getting this deal done. I will spend a lot of time just strolling the property and seeing how everything sets up.”
BUSINESS PLANNING: I am flying out to Louisville on Friday morning and should arrive by midday. I will then head over to Churchill Downs to enjoy the Kentucky Oaks. I am going out that evening to have a good dinner in downtown. During the course of the day on Saturday, I will be part business person and part fan. A lot of people are saying good things about the assortment of our merchandise. Hopefully tons of people will be walking around with Fanatics gear on. I definitely plan to leave some time for leisure. I have never been to Louisville, so I did a little research. But I plan to just go with the flow. My wife already has her hat purchased.
MOMMA, I’M COMING HOME: We are flying back to N.Y. on Sunday morning. With it being Mother’s Day, we are going to go from there to a celebration at my sister’s house, which is about five miles from me. It will be a nice way to cap off the weekend with family.
EZ RIDER: I enjoy playing tennis in our weekly game. With the weather getting nicer, I also like to go for bike rides from my home in Scarsdale to Manor Park in Larchmont. When you take the ride, you feel like you are in a beautiful place in Maine. It is a great escape. Along the way there is a Farmers Market that has some interesting sweets like gelato and cupcakes. It justifies all of the exercise.
GOOD BURGER: My wife most definitely does the cooking in the household. The only thing that she lets me do is grilling, which I actually enjoy doing. We have a good division of labor. I love being outside grilling when the weather is nice. There is always that quest to cook the perfect burger. It can be too well done or too under cooked. It seems like an easy thing to do, but I am always up to the challenge.
POLITICAL ARENA: I am an old-school reader. I still like the feel of the newspaper and I always feel good about finishing the N.Y. Times over the weekend. From a TV standpoint, I do watch a lot of sports. I do not consider myself a political person, but with the dynamic of this year’s race, I have probably watched more CNN or Fox News than I ever have. It is like a year-long reality show which will obviously continue. I am a pretty active worker on weekends. I am definitely checking emails and taking phone calls. The head of our company, MICHAEL RUBIN, is not a five-day-a-week person.
