It would make for an extremely difficult trivia question: What is the connection between rappers Lil Wayne, Lil Yachty, and Rauw Alejandro, and Leonardo da Vinci?
For all those people who are undoubtedly stumped, the rappers are associated with Run Fast Racing, the co-owners of Belmont Stakes (G1) entrant Vitruvian Man, named for da Vinci's iconic ink drawing, depicting a male figure inscribed within a circle and a square.
Adam Kluger, who founded Run Fast Racing along with the aforementioned rappers, teamed with the colt's breeder and co-owner, Glenn Sorgenstein and his WC Racing, because they are bullish on pitching horse racing to younger people in a fun and cool way that excites and energizes them.
Enter Run Fast Racing, which offers a full ownership experience—winner's circle, private events, and owners' box access alongside celebrity partners, such as Lil Wayne, Lil Yachty, and Rauw Alejandro, at Santa Anita Park (it also will be offered at the upcoming Del Mar meet). Its website promises, "real ownership, not a fan club" and "free food and drinks (alcohol for 21+) will be provided by our sponsors on select dates." Subscribers receive money when their horses win.
While Run Fast Racing has been operating for a couple of years, it was only within the past couple of weeks it became involved with the Doug O'Neill-trained Vitruvian Man, who finished third in the April 4 Santa Anita Derby (G1) in his most recent start.
Southern California-based Sorgenstein, a longtime owner and breeder who has a farm near Paris, Ky., where Vitruvian Man was born, explains how he was invited to a party at the home of Mark Verge, who briefly served as the CEO of Santa Anita Park in 2012. At the gathering, Kluger, a music manager, who Forbes named one of its 30 most influential people in the music industry under the age of 30 in 2012, pitched him on Run Fast Racing.
"I've heard a million pitches on how we increase attendance at racetracks, but this was the first one that truly resonated with me, because it was targeted to the right demographic," Sorgenstein said.
"Adam's concept of bringing together, rap music, hip-hop, having a good time, making it more about the social experience, and giving younger people who listen to Lil Yachty and Lil Wayne and Alejandro, and people like that, the opportunity of getting them in the same room with these people, I thought was was brilliant."
Sorgenstein, who campaigned two-time Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Goldencents , has deep concerns about the future of racing in Southern California, and by extension the rest of the country. He cites the closing of major racetracks in Northern California, and the shuttering of Hollywood Park in Southern California, as a harbinger of things to come for the industry as a whole if new fans aren't introduced to the sport in progressive ways.
"I figured let's get Adam involved with Vitruvian Man, and he was gung-ho. It's one thing if Adam runs claimers or even low-grade allowance horses, but if you get him (and Run Fast Racing) on the big stage, he really has a chance to hit the ball out of the park. You know he'll get and generate a lot of publicity and the artists that he represents will generate a lot of publicity. As an industry, we have to embrace this. As an industry, we have to be tolerant of newcomers coming in. The blue bloods of Kentucky are going to have to learn how to embrace a new audience, because if they don't, (racing) will disappear."
Reminiscent of the talent agent played by the ultimate power broker Ari Gold in the HBO series "Entourage," Kluger's unbridled enthusiasm for Run Fast Racing is undeniable during a fast-paced conversation detailing the workings of his subscription-based company which requires application approval. Its $100 monthly fee lets users be involved with all the horses in the stable, which currently numbers 26. Starting June 3, every time a Run Fast Racing horse wins, cash payouts are deposited directly into the user's bank account.
"I think (people working in the racing industry) have to find new ways to attract new generations. New generations typically have a very different outlook on what's cool and what's not. I saw the gap," Kluger remarked. "I've always been a lover of the sport since I was very young, and because of my background in the music business and celebrity, I thought I was in a very interesting position. The idea is basically to bait young people into the sport's vanity and blur the line between celebrity and fan with horses as the medium."
So what does it mean for Run Fast Racing's subscribers if Vitruvian Man, who is 30-1 on the morning line, upsets the June 6 Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course?
Kluger is quick with the answer. "We're giving away $200,000 to co-owners if we win the Belmont, and it costs people $100 a month, so all the way up until the (starting) gates open, anybody in the world could become a co-owner of a Triple Crown racehorse."
