In 2020, anything can happen, and horse racing agent Kelly Wietsma is hoping for another odds-defying feat — but this time with a happy ending.
Wietsma’s agency, Equisponse, sells sponsorships around star thoroughbred horses, including 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Funny Cide. She now represents Tiz the Law, the favorite in this Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.
Both horses come from Sackatoga Stable, which was founded by six high school buddies who pooled their money to buy relatively inexpensive New York-bred racehorses. In an industry dominated by multi-millionaire and billionaire owners, Funny Cide, who cost $75,000, was an improbable winner of both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. The owners, meanwhile, won fans for their down-to-earth style, arriving at the tracks in a school bus rather than a limousine.
This year, turned upside down by COVID-19, Tiz the Law already did what Funny Cide could not do — win the Belmont Stakes. As a result of pandemic rescheduling, the Belmont Stakes in June was the first leg in the Triple Crown instead of the last. The Kentucky Derby will be the second leg this Saturday in Louisville, and the Preakness Stakes on Oct. 3 in Baltimore will be the last. And, in 2020, the little guys who own Sackatoga Stable have another shot at the Triple Crown.
“What are the chances of lightning striking twice?” Wietsma said. “That’s exactly what it is. A horse like this comes around once in a lifetime.”
Wietsma was already finalizing one sponsorship deal for the horse last week, which she couldn’t reveal, but said it was “a perfect fit” for Tiz the Law in the Kentucky Derby.
If the bay horse, with a big white blaze on his face, wins on Saturday, “We will have a very busy four weeks before the Preakness,” she said.
Wietsma is getting ready. “He’s the best horse I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Wietsma said of Tiz, as he’s known for short. That’s saying a lot, as Wietsma has represented the jockey, owner or trainer of some of the biggest thoroughbreds in the sport in the past 17 years, including Smarty Jones, Uncle Mo, I’ll Have Another, and I Want Revenge. She landed a deal with UPS for Big Brown, who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2008, and a deal with Ram Trucks for 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming.
Horses obviously can’t sign contracts, so Wietsma represents the jockey, owner, trainer, or all three. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher is a longtime client, as is BodyArmor founder and horse owner Mike Repole.
Wietsma represented Funny Cide’s jockey, Jose Santos, in 2003, and this year represents Tiz the Law’s owner and the whole team around the horse.
In 2003, she had to ask the owners for permission to represent the horse, said Jack Knowlton, Sackatoga Stable operating manager. This time around, Wietsma and Knowlton got to talking. “Same deal; you have a horse in the Derby and we are collaborating, and hopefully we’ll get some things got done,” Knowlton said of marketing the horse.
Like Funny Cide, Barclay Tagg is the trainer of Tiz the Law. “It’s crazy,” Knowlton said, that they are all still around and together, and have the Derby favorite yet again, 17 years later. “We are buying one, maybe two horses a year,” he said. “We’re small time. We are not in the big leagues when it comes to spending money on horses, but we are lucky to get in the big leagues with these horses, twice.”
The big money in horse racing comes in the form of stallion fees, but Funny Cide is a gelding, unable to reproduce, so he is retired to Kentucky Horse Park. But Tiz the Law is a colt and his breeding rights have already been sold to one of the best farms in the world, Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud, which stands Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
Financial details are confidential. “Everybody is happy,” Knowlton said of the deal. Everybody would be even happier if Tiz wins the Derby and America has a Triple Crown contender, especially in this strange year, he said.
“We all need a Tiz this year,” Wietsma said. “There are so many people suffering with no jobs and sick people and people cooped up for months. It’s a feel-good story.”
■ UTA SIGNS JORDAN RODGERS: United Talent Agency has signed SEC Network analyst Jordan Rodgers for representation in broadcasting and all areas. UTA agents Jerry Silbowitz, Natasha Bolouki and Ryan Hayden are representing Rodgers. He was formerly represented by Wasserman.
Rodgers is the younger brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He played quarterback at Vanderbilt, but was undrafted in the 2013 NFL draft. In 2016, he was the winning contestant on ABC’s “The Bacherlorette,” where he proposed to his fiancee, Joelle “JoJo” Fletcher. The two are still engaged and they co-host a show, “Cash Pad,” on CNBC, about house flipping and real estate investing. Fletcher is an existing client of UTA.
■ ROC NATION SIGNS TWO: Roc Nation Sports has signed former NFL quarterback Michael Vick and projected NBA first-round draft pick Texas Tech guard Jahmi’us Ramsey.
Kyle Thousand, who heads the agency’s baseball division, will lead representation for Vick for broadcasting and other work. Raymond Brothers, Roc Nation director of basketball, is representing Ramsey, who was ranked No. 16 on website nbadraft.net’s mock draft last week.
■ WASSERMAN SIGNS PELOTON INSTRUCTOR: Wasserman has signed Tunde Oyeneyin, a Peloton instructor, for representation for endorsements, speaking and branding.
Agent Spencer Wadsworth will represent Oyeneyin, who has gained national attention for her successful weight loss program and recently founded SPEAK, a platform designed to allow those experiencing adversity to be heard.
Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @SBJLizMullen.
