Grits
04-25-2015, 03:17 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/sports/a-horse-with-the-right-name-to-tie-the-kentucky-derby-to-a-prizefight.html?_r=0
After his final major workout ahead of next Saturday’s Kentucky Derby (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/k/kentucky_derby/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier), the colt Itsaknockout retreated to Barn 40 on Friday for a bath. He was swaddled in a black blanket with the words “Mayweather,” in orange, and “Pacquiao,” in yellow, printed on the side.
It was the first sign of a partnership between Starlight Racing, which owns Itsaknockout, and the promoters of the long-anticipated championship welterweight match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/floyd_mayweather_jr/index.html?inline=nyt-per) and Manny Pacquiao (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/manny_pacquiao/index.html?inline=nyt-per), which will be held about four hours after the Derby.
In addition to Itsaknockout’s donning the blanket until he is saddled for the Derby, his team will wear apparel to promote the fight. During the race, the jockey Luis Saez will have the words “Mayweather” on one leg and “Pacquiao” on the other.
Rules about advertising are set by state racing commissions, and the issue has been contentious at times. Besides objections from commissions, some owners believe that the silks are not the property of the jockeys to sell or rent advertising space. But most commissions authorize advertising on jockeys’ pants.
“It was a very quick, easy and stress-free process,” Espinoza said of working with Churchill Downs and the chief state stewards to get approval. “Between the first phone call and the first horse blanket arriving, it only took about a week.”
Mayweather Promotions and Pacquiao’s promoter, Top Rank, are rivals, as are Showtime and HBO, but they quickly agreed on the value of advertising at the other marquee event of the day.
Continue reading the main story (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/sports/a-horse-with-the-right-name-to-tie-the-kentucky-derby-to-a-prizefight.html?_r=0#story-continues-2)
After his final major workout ahead of next Saturday’s Kentucky Derby (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/k/kentucky_derby/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier), the colt Itsaknockout retreated to Barn 40 on Friday for a bath. He was swaddled in a black blanket with the words “Mayweather,” in orange, and “Pacquiao,” in yellow, printed on the side.
It was the first sign of a partnership between Starlight Racing, which owns Itsaknockout, and the promoters of the long-anticipated championship welterweight match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/floyd_mayweather_jr/index.html?inline=nyt-per) and Manny Pacquiao (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/manny_pacquiao/index.html?inline=nyt-per), which will be held about four hours after the Derby.
In addition to Itsaknockout’s donning the blanket until he is saddled for the Derby, his team will wear apparel to promote the fight. During the race, the jockey Luis Saez will have the words “Mayweather” on one leg and “Pacquiao” on the other.
Rules about advertising are set by state racing commissions, and the issue has been contentious at times. Besides objections from commissions, some owners believe that the silks are not the property of the jockeys to sell or rent advertising space. But most commissions authorize advertising on jockeys’ pants.
“It was a very quick, easy and stress-free process,” Espinoza said of working with Churchill Downs and the chief state stewards to get approval. “Between the first phone call and the first horse blanket arriving, it only took about a week.”
Mayweather Promotions and Pacquiao’s promoter, Top Rank, are rivals, as are Showtime and HBO, but they quickly agreed on the value of advertising at the other marquee event of the day.
Continue reading the main story (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/sports/a-horse-with-the-right-name-to-tie-the-kentucky-derby-to-a-prizefight.html?_r=0#story-continues-2)