Kentucky Derby competitor Itsaknockout's blanket on Saturday during the race will feature the words "Mayweather" in orange on one side and "Pacquiao" in yellow on the other as part of a "partnership between Starlight Racing," which owns the horse, and the promoters of the Floyd Mayweather Jr,-Manny Pacquiao fight, according to Melissa Hoppert of the N.Y. TIMES. In addition to the blanket, the horse's team "will wear apparel to promote the fight." During the race, jockey Luis Saez "will have the words 'Mayweather' on one leg and 'Pacquiao' on the other." The arrangement "came about when Jack Wolf, Starlight’s founder," approached NFL Giants Senior VP/Player Personnel and Starlight partner Chris Mara about marketing the horse. Mara suggested that they "speak with" 16W Marketing co-Founders Steve Rosner and Frank Vuono. Rosner said, "We thought, Wouldn’t it be something from a sponsorship and branding standpoint if the boxing community was talking about the Derby and the Derby people were talking about boxing?” Showtime Sports Exec VP & GM Stephen Espinoza said of working with Churchill Downs and the chief state stewards to get approval, "It was a very quick, easy and stress-free process. Between the first phone call and the first horse blanket arriving, it only took about a week" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/26).
