By Kevin Blake
Ever since the G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational was announced last May, it has got people talking. Everything about it defies convention and the organisers look set to be rewarded for their boldness with an incredible inaugural running of the race on Jan. 28 featuring Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) and California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) in a much-anticipated rematch from the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.
The concept, which was developed by the Stronach Group, took the GI Donn H. at Gulfstream Park run over nine furlongs on dirt in late-January/early-February and replaced it with the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, a race worth $12 million run over the same course and distance at the same time of year.
Such a purse would make the Pegasus the most valuable horse race in the world, but what made it unique was how that purse was put together. Each of the 12 available places in the race could be bought for $1 million. Once bought, these places could be used by the buyer for one of their own horses or alternatively could be leased or sold to other owners.
As well as ensuring a spot in the race, entry holders would also benefit from an equal share in 100% of the net income from the betting handle, media rights, and sponsorships from the Pegasus World Cup. Each runner would also be guaranteed a minimum of $250,000 in prize money, as the purse was structured so that the winner would get $7 million, $1.75 million for second, $1 million for third and $250,000 for each of the remaining nine runners. It was a bold concept, but one that clearly resonated with some of the biggest thoroughbred players in the game, with all 12 places being snapped up within a week of the race being announced.
The unique buy-in entry system has served a dual purpose. As well as guaranteeing a world-leading prize money fund, the wheeling and dealing surrounding the entries has provided huge amounts of newsworthy content that has served to keep the Pegasus in the headlines ever since it was first announced. From the stories generated by an entry being bought by Dan Schafer, a mystery man who has never even owned a racehorse, up to the more recent speculation and negotiations that led to Juddmonte Farms eventually buying the entry owned by Coolmore so that their star performer Arrogate can take his place in the field, it has been an endless source of PR gold for the race.
Given that the race has already attracted the two highest-rated horses in the world, it may have been expected that the race organisers would take a laid-back approach to the marketing of it, letting the inevitable attention that such a clash will generate within the sport do their promotional job for them. Not a chance.
The whole Pegasus World Cup project has been just dripping with innovation and outside-the-box thinking from the very outset and this was again showcased on Wednesday when we got our first look at the marketing campaign for the race.
Not content with confining themselves to horse racing's existing followers, the Pegasus World Cup is clearly looking to broaden its appeal, as the promotional video for the race stars none other than the flamboyant Mixed Martial Arts superstar Conor McGregor. For those that haven't seen it, here is the link.
Crucially, the video wasn't a case of a generic celebrity appearance for the sake of it. It was very well scripted, using the right mix of humour and information to attract in the casual observer without bamboozling them. It was the first of a four-part series of videos, with the remaining three videos set to be released on Jan. 11 and 18 with the final episode airing live on the NBC race day broadcast on Jan. 28.
While the choice of McGregor will have prompted many double-takes across the world of horse racing, McGregor and the Pegasus World Cup actually have quite a bit in common. Neither of them has the pedigree or background to suggest they should be a worldwide force in their respective fields, but their unique and innovative marketing methods in combination with their underlying talent has put them on a convention-defying fast-track to worldwide attention and success. Indeed, it is what McGregor brings to the table in marketing terms that makes this partnership likely to prove to be a PR coup for both the Pegasus World Cup and indeed for the sport of horse racing.
As well as rising to the very top of the MMA world, McGregor has become a highly-influential force on social media, with over 3 million followers on Twitter and almost 10 million followers on Instagram. At the time of writing less than 24 hours after the video was released, the Pegasus World Cup video has already been viewed over 2 million times on his Instagram page alone and the total views across the internet are likely to run into many multiples of that number in the days and weeks ahead. Given that the vast majority of McGregor's followers are unlikely to have had the Pegasus World Cup or indeed horse racing in general on their radar, such promotion can only serve to raise the profile of both the race and the sport amongst a mainstream sporting audience.
When the Pegasus World Cup was first announced, Belinda Stronach, chairman and president of The Stronach Group, called the new race a “game-changer” and stated that it was part of the company's goal to “modernize the sport and generate a new group of fans.” Well, the inaugural renewal of the race has not even been run and they have already achieved much of those goals.
With other big players in the world of racing surely being likely to be inspired by this wonderful concept to create buy-in races in their own jurisdictions, the Pegasus World Cup Invitational could be an even bigger game changer than even the Stronachs imagined.
Feedback: Kevin Blake (@kevinblake2011) or Gary King ([email protected])
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