Highlights from the episode:
The power of perseverance when others stop believing
Why the biggest victories aren't always what we remember
Trusting your instincts when the odds are against you
The importance of dreaming bigger at every stage of life
How passion can find you when you least expect it
Podcast show notes:
What do you do when the career that defined your life is suddenly behind you?
That's one of the questions I found myself thinking about during this conversation with former Major League Baseball star Jayson Werth.
Jayson knows what it's like to fight for a dream. Before becoming a World Series champion, he faced an injury that nearly ended his career and the frustration of not being believed. Years later, when baseball was over, he found himself wondering what came next.
What I love about his story is how unexpected that answer turned out to be.
Jayson takes us inside his discovery of horse racing, the remarkable story of Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch, and the experience of creating Icon Racing. He also shares why winning with your family standing right beside you is something he never experienced quite the same way in baseball.
What You'll Hear:
The comeback that required Jayson to prove himself again (12:37)
What no one told Jayson about baseball retirement (20:51)
The connection between Dornoch and a trip to Scotland (31:05)
Sharing championship moments with the people you love (33:05)
How horse racing brings family together (47:41)
Jayson's experience is a reminder that a meaningful chapter can begin long after another has ended. If his story resonates, subscribe to Things No One Tells You and consider leaving a rating or review to help others discover the show.
Connect with Jayson Werth
Follow Jason on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaysonwerth_
Be sure to subscribe to Things No One Tells You—Lindsay’s podcast all about the real, unfiltered conversations we don’t always have but should. From big names to everyday voices, each episode dives into the moments that shape us. Listen wherever you get your podcasts!
Follow along with Lindsay below!
Full Transcript
[00:00:00] Jayson: Growing up, I wanted to be a big leaguer, and I wanted to make- I wanted to make $10 million. That was my goal. That was it, and looking back, I should have set my sights on being a Hall of Famer. Looking back, that's where my mindset should have been. And it, and it became that later on, but it was like I wish I would have had the foresight to think that was possible.
[00:00:23] Shoot, shoot for the stars, land on the moon,
[00:00:26] Lindsay: Okay.
[00:00:27] Jayson: Shoot for the moon, get the rocket into the atmosphere. So, with horse racing, I wanna win the Kentucky Derby. I wanna Icon, I go on Icon Racing to win the Kentucky Derby. That's my goal.
[00:00:39] Lindsay: Hello, and welcome to this episode of Things No One Tells You.
[00:00:43] All right. This episode is one I've been waiting for because do you guys have people in your lives you haven't seen in a long time, and then all of a sudden you bump into them, and it feels like a sort of meant-to-be moment? So stay with me, 'cause it's gonna feel weird.
[00:01:00] But this week I'm talking to Major League outfielder, Jayson Werth. So Jayson won the World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. I covered him when I was working in Washington, DC, at NBC Channel 4, when he was on the Nationals. But Jayson is an absolute character. He is so much fun, but we're talking to him about not only some of his thoughts from baseball, but now he is big into horse racing, and he has actually created a platform called Icon Racing.
[00:01:34] It is a partnership platform, and the story behind it is, I just think it's just really incredible. So to take you back, Jayson, when I first started covering him as a sports reporter, he came to the Nationals and it... I want to say, his reputation was that he was sort of aloof, gruff with the media.
[00:01:55] And I don't know, but I just remember being like, "Okay, well, what's he really gonna be like?" And I just think he was really awesome and refreshing because he was so honest. He won the World Series. He came to the Nationals. He was part of this team that had so much promising talent. And I would say he fit in quickly, but he kind of always had this mystique about him.
[00:02:19] But anyway, he was always someone that I really enjoyed being able to talk to post-game, pre-game, whatever it was. But you always kinda had to... you're, like, on edge because he just was very outspoken, opinionated, kind of one of those fun athletes to cover. So he retired from the team in 2017, and I went back to Washington, DC.
[00:02:38] I took my family with me to the NLCS when the Washington Nationals were trying to make it to the World Series in 2019. And the game ended. The Nationals won. They were going to the World Series. I thought I was losing my mind. I could not believe it. I was there with Melvin, my kids, my parents, and- Were able to go on the field after, and the team was still there celebrating.
[00:03:07] They were doing the big ceremony where they were getting ready to be interviewed and do the CS sort of champion celebration. And I turn around, and I literally almost bump into this really tall man. I'm holding my son, and I'm like, "Oh my God, Jason." And it was Jason Werth, and it had been like two years for me since I left ESPN.
[00:03:29] It had been two years since he had retired from baseball. And seeing him for the first time, I was like, "Oh my gosh." It was just this mon- moment of familiarity and knowing what an instrumental part of the team he had been in the prior couple of years. It was like, "Oh, this is so cool to see him."
[00:03:47] And so we sat there, and it was interesting because he was just watching the celebration, and he still was friends with so many people on that team and the staff. And it just had me thinking, "Wow, I wonder what this is like for him watching that," and knowing through their eyes. And I remember him saying, "I just had to be here."
[00:04:04] He's like, "I just had to be here at this moment to see if they were gonna do it." And I was like, oh, that's just really cool. So anyway, that happens, and then flash forward a couple of years. And actually more than a couple, probably four years. And I had been asked to come to Keeneland in Kentucky to work with America's Best Racing to do some storytelling around this amazing horse called Flightline.
[00:04:29] And Flightline was this legendary horse that was doing things that just seemed surreal, and had a significant chance to beat the breeder, to win the Breeders' Cup that year. So I went to cover this horse, and I hadn't been to Keeneland before. I was so excited to be around the sport. And I'm following a producer I'm working with, and they're like, "Hey, come with us.
[00:04:51] We'll show you what it's like to be in the paddock before this huge race here." And so we're like weaving in and out of these places, getting past security, and we go into this paddock area where all these people are. And they're starting to, like, take out the horses, getting ready for this next race. And I'm walking, and I'm walking, and all of a sudden I literally, like, bump into this tall person, and I turn around, and I'm like, "No.
[00:05:15] Jayson Werth." And I'm like, "Out of all the places, what are you doing at a horse race in Kentucky in November? What's happening?" And he was like, "Oh, I'm here 'cause I'm kind of interested in this sport. I don't know much about it, but I'm here to be around it," blah, blah, blah. And it was just the wildest thing because I was like, this is so out of place, yet it just keeps popping up in these moments where it's just like life sort of meeting at these places of, like, really, passion for this sport or this thing, and big moments, big championship things happening, and then there's Jayson Werth.
[00:05:54] So I'm not being articulate, but I just wanted to share that this is sort of my backstory. And so since Jayson has sort of entered into this world of horse racing and I've been around it a lot more, I just, I love his story. I love the comparison he makes between baseball and horse racing, how he looks at it.
[00:06:13] The stories that he shares about some of the details behind, like, like, a horse's name, but also just being in the winner's circle, I think it's something that it doesn't matter if you've even touched the sport at all or not; it's just cool to hear. So I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I do. Here is my talk with Jayson Werth.
[00:06:33] This is gonna be really weird, but I just want... I've told you about this,s and I haven't had a chance to show you. Look at this. Do you remember this?
[00:06:41] Jayson: Unfortunately, yes, I do remember.
[00:06:43] Lindsay: It's a Chia Pet, Chia Werth. But my, but look at this. This is so funny. I mean, this is from 2016, '17.
[00:06:49] Jayson: The, the, the marketing department with the Nats, they, came to me one year and they were like, "We wanna do a bobblehead, but we wanna do a garden gnome."
[00:07:00] And I was like, "E, uh,h" what's it gonna look like? I was like, "I'll agree to this if I get to help design it."
[00:07:10] Lindsay: Awesome.
[00:07:10] Jayson: So it was cool. It was like, it was a huge hit. And, then the next year they came out with, they didn't, get my, what's that called when you, you have creativity, you get to…
[00:07:29] Lindsay: IP?
[00:07:30] Jayson: No. If you get to help create the whole thing and then ... Anyways, they didn't come to me as they did with the garden gnome. And then they made this bobblehead; it was of the 2020, 2012, walk-off, and they made this bobblehead that was, like, jumping onto home plate.
[00:07:48] But they made it look, in a way that was not desirable. And the mouth was open, and it was like- ... in this stance, and it was like ... it was terrible. And I was like, I s- they, and they previewed it, and they showed it to me, and I was like, what are you guys, what are you doing? What's this?"
[00:08:10] Are you guys, are you guys serious with this? This is the biggest, this has gotta be the biggest joke of all time." I mean, it was- it was so bad. Sorry,
[00:08:20] Lindsay: Just ignore it.
[00:08:22] Jayson: I, yeah, I don't know if you might edit this out, but as the story goes, they
[00:08:27] Lindsay: Wait, so what'd they do?
[00:08:29] Jayson: Well, they had 25,000 of these things-
[00:08:32] at the stadium ready to give out on Friday. I said, if, if you guys give these out, I'm, I quit. I'm not, I'm not being a part of this." There was, at the time- thank God... at the time we were, we were doing a, like a deferral. They wanted me to defer money, and there was no reason to do it.
[00:08:49] And I was like, "All right. All right. You guys make this go away, and I'll help you with one that actually would be okay. And, but I'll, do the, I'll do the def, deferral." A part of the deferral was, like, an extra million bucks. So not only did I get, not only did I get the, the, horrible, bobblehead to go away, I made an extra million dollars off it, so it was great.
[00:09:14] Lindsay: Oh my God, that is such a funny story.
[00:09:17] Jayson: It was good business. It was good business. Good marketing.
[00:09:19] Lindsay: First of all, can you take me back for a second? I always, I love to hear what perspective you have when you go back to 2008, and you think about that final out when you became a World Series champion. What goes through your mind?
[00:09:32] Jayson: I, I don't have r- too many actual memories of the stuff on the field from, from that whole time. It was like, it was, like, a full blackout. Really? Yeah. When I go back and watch, I'm like, "Oh, that's right." I remember that happened, but I don't have, I don't have the memory of, what I saw or, my perspective of it.
[00:09:54] What, the only thing I remember is getting to the pile, and I've, I've won, a, I won a state championship baseball achamp- state championship in high school, and I was catching at the time. And so I ran out there and tackled the pitcher, and then everybody piled up on top of us. And I ended up at the bottom of the pile, and I almost died.
[00:10:16] 'cause, everybody's w- laying on you, you can't breathe. And then, when I got to the pile, I kinda had that thought. I was like, "Man, it sucks to be on the bottom of this thing." And I, I came from the outfield, so when I got there, this is what I do remember, is I came face-to-face with Brad Lidge.
[00:10:30] And he's white. And he, he's like t- trying,... He can't breathe.
[00:10:37] Lindsay: He couldn't breathe?
[00:10:38] Jayson: Yeah. And I'm like, "Oh, shit." And I start, "Get off him!" and then he takes a breath and I just grab him and hug him and try to pull him up or whatever. But it was kinda funny.
[00:10:49] I was like, "Oh my God, we all- we almost killed Brad." Oh, my God. Perfect season, what do you win? Yeah. But yeah, I don't remember. I go, I've, I've watched the games back, and there's stuff of it, o,, I watched the games back. I was like, "Oh, that's right, I remember being in the dugout watching it happen."
[00:11:10] And, I remember the, obviously the s- things that happened in the game. But I don't have a recollection of what my vision was with that. And that's pretty abnormal. Usually I remember a lot of stuff, but the big games, the big moments, I don't.
[00:11:27] And the World Series is just totally blank, which is wild.
[00:11:29] Lindsay: What do you think that is? That is really interesting.
[00:11:32] Jayson: Well, they talk about you like... And when you're super locked in, like you have no thoughts, you're like blacked out, or in the zone or whatever, yeah It's I just think it was just, s- so, so locked in on, what was going on that just, your, mind literally is, isn't really functioning, normally. It's just, you're just waiting for a... Waiting to react which is, which means you're, which means you're, zoned in, locked in the zone, whatever you want to call it.
[00:12:05] I think that's, it was just one of those things where you just, you wanted to win so badly. This is what you worked your whole life for, and you're finally in this moment, and nothing else matters. Then it would be, it'd be, it's just, I don't know. I just can't, I can't recollect
[00:12:21] or pull up those moments. It's crazy.
[00:12:22] Lindsay: Yeah. Like you're dialed in exactly the way that you need to be. What, how did it change your life? Did you... Was that like an obvious thing? Did it? Or is that, is it just like it's another thing that happens? It's amazing.
[00:12:37] Jayson: Well, I mean, you kinda gotta... For me personally, I was- you know, I, c- I came up,
[00:12:45] In 2004 I was like 10 plate appearances away from being Rookie of the Year. I didn't play, didn't have enough at-bats. had a big, big second half and hit two home runs in the playoffs with the Dodgers. And in 2005 I was starting left fielder for the Dodgers, batting second, projected.
[00:13:06] And the first game of spring training I got hit in the wrist by A.J. Burnett, 96 off my wrist. Wow. And, laid up hurt in '05, didn't play well. Had surgery; that didn't work. Didn't play at all in '06. I had surgery again. This time I had surgery at the Mayo Clinic with Dr. Berger, who was diagnosing and surgically repairing- the only doctor in the world who was diagnosing and surgically repairing my injury.
[00:13:32] So after a bunch of second and third opinions, nobody could figure out what was wrong. This is after,
[00:13:38] Lindsay: Wow ...
[00:13:39] Jayson: After surgery. So I was almost out of baseball after '06. The Dodgers released me. Pat Gillick with the Phillies calls, signs me '07. I really didn't play until Shane Victorino and Michael Bourn got hurt on July 31st in '07.
[00:13:57] I hit 420 or 4 something, 420 in August of '07, and then got, kinda got, back on the field, got back, back, back playing. And then in '08, at the start of the year, I g- I got put in a platoon with Jeff Jenkins, and I didn't really play every day until like June. So- I had an unbelievable second half.
[00:14:21] I hit 444 in the World Series, and kinda, we win the World Series, solidifying myself as an everyday player, and as a, a, potential, all-star. was an all-star in '09. And then I hit 36 homers in '09, led the league in doubles in 2010, and signed the ninth-biggest deal in MLB history going into the 2011 season with Washington.
[00:14:47] So winning the World Series was, like, the catalyst of the rest of my career, and really solidified me in baseball history. But it was all this trauma that I had to go through years before, and almost being out of baseball, being second-guessed. The Dodgers- ah
[00:15:09] When the Dodgers... The... What I was going through with the Dodgers, they were, they were telling me that there was nothing wrong with me. They were sold- they were saying I needed a sports psychologist. I'm like, "I don't need a sports psychologist. I can't open a doorknob." "Just shut up."
[00:15:25] I mean, maybe I did need a sports psychologist, but not for my wrist. Like- it was... And I was so mad, dude. It was... I knew they acted like I didn't wanna play. All I wanted to do was play. So I finally got back on the field with the Dodgers, or with the Phillies, and I had to fight to play every day.
[00:15:45] even a- after my, my two months in, in '07, I still had to, I had to... I started in ' 08 in a platoon with Jayson Jenkins. A platoon means that you... Like righties face lefties and lefties face righties. There's more righties, so I got third of the at-bats.
[00:16:01] Lindsay: Mm-hmm.
[00:16:01] Jayson: And I had to, I had to prove myself again and, on the spot.
[00:16:05] And, eventually, Charlie put me in there every day. And then we won a World Series. So winning the World Series was a dream come true on many levels. But for me it was like- It was just the culmination of all this perseverance that, and bullshit that I had to go through, to get to this point and, how much I had to fight to even get a spot, and all the stuff I went through with the Dodgers.
[00:16:28] And, it was a big moment on many levels for me.
[00:16:34] Lindsay: My God, I love that. That, I would love just, I hope that folks that are out there trying to play a sport hear that. 'Cause that's perseverance. Jimmie Johnson, the race car driver, he's a seven-time champion; he just was telling me that he feels like the thing that, that is, a through line to people that achieve greatness is a chip on their shoulder.
[00:16:57] So you presumably had that same type of doubter mentality chip on your shoulder. Is that right, or do you think-
[00:17:05] Jayson: Yeah, I mean- Yeah ... for sure. What I went through in LA was just wild. I went from being like, oh, 10 at-bats away from being rookie of the year to almost being out of baseball, and having the same people that were gonna, were giving me the opening day job were telling me that I was crazy and there was nothing wrong with me, and I don't, I have to, "I have, you have to want to play, Jason.
[00:17:32] You have to want to play." And I'm like, I mean, if you knew me, if you know me at all, that's all I wanna do. I'm, I mean- yeah.... I live to play. So that was, it was tough, "Oh, we want you to see a sports psychologist," whatever, all this shit, and I was just like, "This is crazy." So back to your comment about a chip on your shoulder, the same front office that released me from the Dodgers was there that night in Philadelphia when I stole second, third, and home.
[00:18:02] I- the stolen base cycle, and they were all sitting in f- the front row behind the, behind the, on-deck circle. So, you know- Oh my God ... Kim Ng, Ned Colletti, Scott Akasaki, the traveling secretary, not that he had anything to do with it, but all their whole front office brass.
[00:18:21] They were there to watch me steal home and wa- and have that big game and have that big season. I hit two home runs against the Dodgers that, in '09, sent us to the World Series. So, just a big F you to the people that didn't believe me and thought I didn't wanna play.
[00:18:38] So yeah, I had a, I definitely had a chip on my shoulder.
[00:18:41] Lindsay: Did you get to say anything to them? Or did you-
[00:18:43] Jayson: No, I think-
[00:18:44] Lindsay: Did they sit down?
[00:18:46] Jayson: What's the saying, let's play and talk ... What's the saying? In, in, in, in September, you, you let your bat do the talking.
[00:18:54] Lindsay: The analytics are absolutely becoming an issue with the way that- yeah, I mean, there's especially defenses.
[00:19:02] Jayson: Right. I- the analytics are good. It gives you a look back on what's happened and trends, and it can be looked at, but it doesn't necessarily predict the future because every moment is a moment that hasn't been decided. So, you can't say, "Oh, this is this, and this is that, and this is what's going to happen."
[00:19:29] If that's the case, then why are we playing?
[00:19:33] What's, what... Let's just put computers out there and run simulations and, and, that be it. It's just, it doesn't make sense. There's still, you still gotta have the human element, instincts and gut,t and what's gonna happen next is undetermined,\ and that's what's so great about the game because each pitch is a, is, a dance between the batter and the pitcher, but is also a fight.
[00:19:59] And that's the outcome that has not been determined yet. And you can sit there and analyze all you want, but, that's what makes, that's what makes the players great.
[00:20:09] Lindsay: There's a flow to it. All right. So, your last season in the majors was 2017.
[00:20:16] Jayson: Yep.
[00:20:17] Lindsay: And what would you say is the thing no one tells you about life as a retired professional athlete?
[00:20:27] Jayson: Well, they don't tell you anything to start. Just, they're just like, "Bye, see you later," and I think you kinda catch yourself sometimes if you don't really have- there was no, I, had, nothing to fall back on. I signed with the University of Georgia to go play baseball, but then I got drafted in the first round, and I never, I was, I was, going to school to play baseball. I wasn't going to school for anything else. So I didn't take classes in the off-season. I didn't, I didn't have any interest in doing all that. So when I got done, it was like, all right, well, I've got no life skills.
[00:21:07] I have no education; I've got some street smarts. But, outside of that, I mean, I don't, didn't have anything going for me. So there was no fallback plan. There was no, no, nothing to be like, "Okay, I'm gonna go do this now." I didn't really wanna coach.
[00:21:26] So I was kinda like, "All right, I guess, I guess I'm just retiring." My kids were still in school and playing baseball, so I would go watch them play and,
[00:21:36] Lindsay: I mean, was that on your mind when you were playing? Oh, there will come an end, and I should think about that, or no, 'cause you're just so in it?
[00:21:44] Jayson: No, I thought I was playing; I would play forever. I was, it was just... and I, I- Yeah ... I've talked to people since then, and I'm like, "Look, this game ends for everybody." Get, put yourself in a position to have something to fall back on because a lot of guys get out of baseball, and it's a super small percentage of players that make it to six years in the big leagues to get a contract.
[00:22:10]Most guys, regardless of your contract, when they get out, they have to go find something else to do because they didn't make enough to solely be retired at 35. So, no one told me that, and that was- it was fine. I wasn't; that wasn't on my mind. But it is the reality for everybody that plays the game 'cause it, it, it all ends.
[00:22:34] Father, Time's undefeated.
[00:22:36] Lindsay: Truth. So the horses. It was so funny because that first year when I saw you at Keeneland, and I literally ran into you, and it was like, whoa, I... And I did not know that you had the interest that you had in horses. But for folks that are listening, watching, how did that start for you?
[00:22:57] Jayson: So I moved down to Florida to put my kids in the IMG Academy, aight, before COVID. And I was, to stay in shape and to pass the time, I was playing tennis. So to start, I'd never played tennis, and I was like, "All right, I'ma play tennis. This looks like a great game." And I couldn't figure out how to hit the ball with top spin on it 'cause, in baseball,l you wanna hit the ball with back spin on it.
[00:23:20] So I just kept hitting the ball over the fence. It was, but then over-..
[00:23:24] Lindsay: That means your strings are open, right? Your strings are open.
[00:23:27] Jayson: Yeah. You're hitting ... You're kinda, I mean, I was hitting it good in a baseball sense. It was like, ooh, that ... But I was good. I was good, and then when I would get tired, I'd get tired, then I would just revert to putting it over the fence.
[00:23:40] And so I wasn't a great tennis player, but I was staying in shape. But then COVID hit, and then you couldn't, you couldn't play tennis because the balls had COVID on them.
[00:23:51] At least, they said. Yeah. And then, they shut down the tennis courts. But the golf courses were open in Florida, so I was like, all right, I guess I'll start, I'll, guess I'll, transition over to golf.
[00:24:04] I was like, this should be easy 'cause the ball's not moving, right? And it took me a while; it took me a while to figure that out. But I started playing golf, and I ran into these guys at the country club I joined that owned Florida-breds. Or mostly Florida-breds. And they ran at Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream.
[00:24:22] And, so we'd come in on a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon, like, the men's league on Tuesday afternoon. You go in, and then you come in to do your scores, whatever. And they'd run in and they'd turn the races on. Yeah. They'd like, "And I, and the first couple times I was like, is this the Kentucky Derby?"
[00:24:43] Totally green. Knew nothing about horse racing other than there's, there's a Triple Crown,, and there was a horse named Secretariat. Yeah. And the Kentucky Derby runs every year, the first Saturday in May. But that's it. And I was like, watching these guys. They own the horses.
[00:24:59] They get excited. They're betting. And I'm like, "What? Do what..." Then I learned that they're on horses all day, every day. Like, literally 24/7, 365, you can bet on a horse race somewhere in the world. Yeah. And I was like, "I didn't know that." And so I started to get into it. I bought a piece of a, a leg, as they call it, of a horse.
[00:25:20] A couple of horses, a couple of fillies, with those guys. And then, I went to the Keeneland sale in September a couple of years later.
[00:25:30] Lindsay: And- just to be around it. That was the first time that you had really been around that type of sales experience, right? Yeah.
[00:25:36] Jayson: Never gone to a horse sale.
[00:25:38] Started to go to some races. I was there for Rich Strike, the Derby. Was that 2022?
[00:25:46] Lindsay: Mm-hmm.
[00:25:47] Jayson: And then I was there for Flightline, at Breeders' Cup, and that was the year, I think, that, talked into the bar at Keeneland for the Keeneland sales.
[00:26:03] And, you walk in, and you go right or left. The bar is this big, horseshoe bar, goes all the way around. And I was like, " I don't know anybody." And I saw some guy to the right, and I just walked over there, and that's when I ran into Danny Gargan. And he convinced me to buy 10% of this colt that he just bought that turned out to be Dornick.
[00:26:21] And that was really my first try with a colt. So I bought 10% of Do- of Dornick that year, and then the next year I bought 50% of Flying Mohawk. So those two colts ran; both ran in the Derby back-to-back years. And Dornick ultimately ran, won the Belmont. And, li- life cha- talking about life-changing, that, it's, it, it really changed the course of time.
[00:26:48] For a retired athlete that doesn't really have, I don't wanna say much going, but, doesn't really have a whole lot of direction, you get a horse like Dornick, and you go run in the Kentucky Derby, and then you win the Belmont, and then you get Flying Mohawk, and you run back in the Derby.
[00:27:04] It was like, "This is incredible." And then I started up my syndicate, Icon Racing, 'cause horse racing is so iconic. The horses- Mm-hmm ... the people, the tracks, the events, the races, the trophies, the winner's circle. It was like, I was like, "What am I gonna call this?" And then I saw this picture of me holding up the Belmont trophy.
[00:27:26] Lindsay: Yes.
[00:27:27] Jayson: Yes. And I was like, "That's..." I was like, "That's the O," you know- oh... for the logo.
[00:27:32] Lindsay: Oh, that's-
[00:27:33] Jayson: O, right? And then I was like, "All right, we need to fit a word in here." And then I ca- that's where Icon came from, so.
[00:27:39] Lindsay: That's... Oh my God, that's so cool. So when you s- yeah, I can see that picture. But what's funny is, also, I love that you use the word majestic to describe...
[00:27:50] That's also another word that I think about when I think of iconic and how it pertains to horse racing. But okay, so- yeah. Remembering back for Dornick, when it... I always say, people wanna say door knock. It's actually like a door, Dornick. Or door... How do you say it? How do you-
[00:28:05] Jayson: Dornick
[00:28:05] Lindsay: Really-
[00:28:07] Jayson: You've got to use your Scottish accent. It's Dornick.
[00:28:10] Lindsay: Dornick. Dornick. Okay. Anywho.
[00:28:13] Jayson: So I gotta, I actually have a great story about that. Not to interrupt you, but this would've been 2023. So we bought the horse in 2022. He's one, and he's two years old in 2023. I was kinda getting into horse racing a little bit more.
[00:28:33] Chase Utley calls me and says, "Hey, let's go play golf in Scotland. I'm living in London. Fly over here."
[00:28:40] Lindsay: We'll- Why was he living in London? He, Chase Utley, the former Philly ...
[00:28:43] Jayson: he was, he w- yeah. So Chase is, he was my teammate in Philly. We won a World Series together. Chase, he's known as The Man in Philadelphia.
[00:28:52] Awesome guy. Yeah. He and his wife and their kid remodeled their house out in Los Angeles, and during the time it was being remodeled, to restore and remodel something in California takes years, right? You gotta, I mean... So they took the kids and traveled abroad and put him in school in London and did that whole thing for three years.
[00:29:16] Lindsay: Sorry, I realize that wasn't really relevant to the story, but I was just curious.
[00:29:18] Jayson: No, I mean, it-
[00:29:18] Lindsay: Carry on. Go ahead ...
[00:29:19] Jayson: It's relevant.
[00:29:20] Lindsay: Okay.
[00:29:20] Jayson: So- So, so I flew out there. Chase set this trip up, and we went out to Scotland, and we kinda set it up last minute, so we didn't get to play the old course, but we did play some really cool courses.
[00:29:34] Aberdeen up the east side. We playedTrump, Trump's course up there. It was, like, a really cool place. And then we just kept going north. We stayed at this place called SkiboCastle. It's Andrew Carnegie.
[00:29:50] Lindsay: Wow ...
[00:29:51] Jayson: It was a castle. It's now a club. You gotta know somebody. One of the guys we went with was a member, or knew a member, so we stayed there.
[00:29:57] And we played the Carnegie Club, this other place, and then we traveled up to a town called Dornoch to play the golf course there, Royal Dornoch. And it's like the number two, year after year; it's the number two public course in the world. It's incredible. It's old-school Scotland, the town, just a little quaint, little cute town just up there.
[00:30:18] And, I mean, it's all just there. It's a golf course. It's really neat. It's unique. So I came back. I travel back home, and I'm telling Chase, we're watching races at night. I'm telling him about this, this, this sport that I've got into. He thinks I'm crazy. We, I come home, and I call Danny Gargan, and I'm like, "Danny, how is the big horse?"
[00:30:40] He's like, "Doing really good." "He's doing really well." I'm like, "Great." And Danny's got me to believe that this horse is gonna win the Triple Crown. This is the nextDerby winner. He's full of shit, looking back. There are 18,000 horses born every year.
[00:30:58] There's only one Kentucky Derby winner. Like- so I believe him.
[00:31:03] Lindsay: You know, he wasn't off on the Triple Crown
[00:31:05] Jayson: Oh, and I'm like such a sucker. I'm like, "Yeah, of course we're gonna win the Kentucky Derby. Why wouldn't we win the Kentucky Derby?" So I came back from Scotland, and I called Danny. I'm like, "Have you named him?
[00:31:15] Does he have a name?" He's like, " You know what? I think Larry. He put the name in this week. It's like Door Notch or Door-Si. He's like, "I don't know. Call Larry." So I call Larry, and I'm like, "Larry, what's up? How are you doing? I heard you named the big horse." He's like, Yeah. " I named him Dornick."
[00:31:33] And I'm like, " After the town in Scotland? He's like, "Yeah, the golf course there is like my favorite place in the world."
[00:31:41] Lindsay: No. "
[00:31:42] Jayson: I go there every year. I've been there 12, 12 years straight." And I'm like, "I was just there the other day. Who did you name him?" He's like, "Well, we put the name in on Wednesday."
[00:31:54] Where am I on Wednesday? No. Playing Royal Dornoch. No. In the town of Dornoch.
[00:31:59] Lindsay: No. Are you serious?
[00:32:00] Jayson: It's incredible. Yes.
[00:32:03] Lindsay: That just gave me such chills. That's crazy. It's a
[00:32:05] Jayson: Great, it's an amazing story. And I'm with Chase, my, my homie. We- my, my guy. We won a World Series together, and then,s o, so, so- full circle, ran 10th in the Derby; he won the Belmont.
[00:32:21] Lindsay: I'm like- and I, by the way, that moment, yeah, walk me through that. You, I was there, and I just- yeah... I ... You know what? Yeah. Honestly, Jason, it was one of those things where you're going into it and I, don't know, you're like, "This is just probably gonna happen." And obviously- but then it freaking happens, and you're like, "What?" "
[00:32:37] Jayson: Right, seven, 17 to 1. Longest, second-longest shot in the field. The whole place had discredited him, discounted him, 'cause of his trip in the Derby. I thought we were gonna win the Derby. I thought we'd- yeah... we still thought we had the horse to win the Derby. Still do. No doubt in my mind, 17 to 1, we were winning that race.
[00:32:55] But so we, you win that. You were there. Great moment for, for, onward.
[00:32:59] Lindsay: You were, like, on the table. You jump... I mean, the, just, yeah. Yeah. Watching that reaction.
[00:33:04] Jayson: Cheering on the kids. good for-
[00:33:05] Lindsay: The family ...
[00:33:05] Jayson: And I tell people, what's great about horse racing is it's so different from any other sport.
[00:33:13] And like, when I was playing baseball, we won a big game, World Series, whatever, you grab your teammates, and you celebrate in the moment,n,t and it's great. And then you're kinda walking off, and you look up in the crowd, and you wave to Mom and Dad, you wave to your wife and kids, your homies, whatever.
[00:33:28] And then you go in the clubhouse, and then, 20, 15, 20 minutes later, maybe you go in the tunnel, and you get to grab the people that you love. The people that- yeah... like your family and friends. Like that, and then, but the moment's gone. It's, still good and, but it's like you don't get to celebrate in real time.
[00:33:47] In horse racing, you get to celebrate in real time with your people, your wife, your kids, your mom, your dad, your best friend, your brother, your sister. And you get to wrap your arms around them and jump around and celebrate, not with your teammates that you're forced to be around, right? You're close with these guys.
[00:34:04] Lindsay: Right, right, right.
[00:34:05] Jayson: Your actual, your family, your blood, the people you wanna do it with. You get to grab them and jump around and go crazy with them, and that is what separates horse racing from every other sport in the world. It is so good. It's so good.
[00:34:19] Lindsay: I've never thought about it that way. But you are so spot on with that.
[00:34:23] Jayson: Yeah, that's what makes it great. So hold on. So you were there. We won the Belmont. Great moment, right? Yes. Now, the next race is the Haskell in D- in, in Monmouth, at Monmouth in New Jersey. So I called Chase Utley, and I'm like, "Bro, you've got to, you've got to come to this race.
[00:34:43] It's his next big race. It's a grade one. I don't know where you guys are in the world, but you're part of this. You gotta pull... You gotta come. You gotta be part of this thing; you were there from the beginning." And he's like, "Actually, I can make that race work."
[00:34:58] So high-end Jen showed up. It's not-
[00:35:01] Lindsay: And they, wait, were they at the Belmont? Or no, they were not at the Belmont.
[00:35:03] Jayson: No.
[00:35:04] Lindsay: Right. Okay. No. Good.
[00:35:05] Jayson: And they don't, it's not their, that's not their cup of tea. Their big charity is like, what is it, the SPCA or the people that rescue dogs.
[00:35:18] They're like the, they're like, they're really close to PETA people, right? It's, and there's not... I mean, look, to each his own. But it's not, horse racing is not always looked o- on as fondly as, as most people are. Some people think it's cruel, which it's not, and we can talk about that all day, but the Utleys, it's not really their thing,
[00:35:40] Lindsay: And I'm like- Right. Like, if you were going to choose someone who aligns with a charity that maybe wouldn't, that wouldn't be their thing, that would pretty, be pretty extreme.
[00:35:47] Jayson: But I'm like, I'm explaining to him, like, just come see it for yourself. Get your eyes on it. See what you think of it, and we can talk about it.
[00:35:55] But I'm like, "You have to close the loop. You're part of this." So he's like, "All right. I can make it to Monmouth." So he and Jen, they come join us and, we're there and, we go, it's... These races, these big races, all races to me are like super stressful. I have no control over it, and I just, I mean, I can't take it.
[00:36:15] And I'm losing my mind. And like later Chase is like, he's "I thought this was like, I thought he couldn't lose. I didn't realize why." Then he, like, 30 minutes before the race, like I... He's like, "I'm nervous. I don't even know why." He's like, "You're nervous. Everybody's nervous."
[00:36:30] He's like, I..." He's like, "I'm freaking out for no reason." So long story short, Dornick wins the Haskell, which is the next, big- Right ... big grade one race, which is, it's a huge moment. It got him, made him be the stallion that he is. And Chase was there in the box.
[00:36:48] So we got to celebrate with Julia and my boys and Chase and Jen. And that was, like, to start it in Scotland on our golf trip at Dornick- full circle to the Haskell with Chase and Jen and my family. It was just, I mean, what a s- what a, it's like a, a full year.
[00:37:11] And, what a horse. What an entry into the sport. And, now he's a stallion at Spendthrift. We went to see him. He's making babies. His babies- living the life ... will be one next year. It's just-
[00:37:24] Lindsay: Ugh ...
[00:37:24] Jayson: It's been quite the journey. And, like, Flying Mohawk's been amazing, too.
[00:37:28] This is the second colt I bought. He runs in the Derby. He's, he's, super special to us. I don't know if he'll ... He'll probably never be a stallion, but he'll always be mine. I'm never gonna let him go.
[00:37:39] Lindsay: So is Chase now a believer? And is he part of Icon?
[00:37:45] Jayson: he, I think he looks at the sport a lot differently than he would have before.
[00:37:50] It's still not, it's still not his thing. But, he's very supportive and, and interested and, likes following along but he is, he's not a member of the syndicate. Not yet. Not
[00:38:01] Lindsay: yet. But you know what, to that point though, l- one of the other things that, that I enjoy, leaning into and figuring out, is that the fact of breaking down sort of the barrier to entry for people that are interested in this sport.
[00:38:13] And I know that you've talked about that and really wanting that to be part of what you bring and give back to this sport, is just helping educate people, right? Like, where... Start with you, you have a history though around horses from growing up, correct?
[00:38:28] Jayson: Not really. I worked at a horse farm one summer.
[00:38:31] Lindsay: You told me you did. You did what?
[00:38:32] Jayson: I worked at a horse farm one summer. Okay. It was like 12 or something like that. I helped the guy out who's down the street. Oh. I would always go hang out with the horses,b ut I mean, outside of that, not really. Okay, then. I mean, I... Yeah.
[00:38:42] Lindsay: Okay, got it. So really, so then the story that you just shared is really like your first foray-
[00:38:46] Jayson: Yeah, I mean
[00:38:46] Lindsay: Into it. But why is that so important to you, to sort of educate people about that side of the sport?
[00:38:55] Jayson: Well, it's just like I said. I just think it's a, I think it's a great sport that no one knows about. I mean, going from that first day when we came in to play golf asking, "Is this the Kentucky Derby?"
[00:39:04] To winning the Belmont with my first horse and being able to, like, experience, full circle everything that you could pretty much do in the sport in a short period of time. And getting to know it. I mean, there's bad, there's shitty parts about any industry.
[00:39:21] You could, I could take you down to the minor leagues, the low level of the minor leagues in baseball and be like, "You wouldn't believe what you'd see." They've cleaned it up over the years. Yeah. And horse racing's the same way. There's, 40 years ago, 50 years ago where there were some bad actors.
[00:39:34] Yeah, but they've cleaned it up quite a bit. I mean, these horses are well taken care of. I truly believe that it is an amazing sport for everybody involved. But as an owner,r it changes; it changes how you look at it. These things, you follow them every day.
[00:39:51] You watch their workouts. You get to know them. They have personalities. Now their careers are short-lived, but you make sure they go on to have, they call it, aftercare. They b- they make sure they go on to have a successful home life, if you will, after they're done racin'.. Yeah,ah ad, they're...
[00:40:09] It's just me, I got dogs. I'm a dog person. They become like part of your family, but it's super difficult to get into the sport as an owner. There are barriers to entry. The people that have been around the sport for eons, decades, hundreds of years, the families, like they don't really necessarily want to share the sport with anybody.
[00:40:34] They li- they like it for themselves, and I get it. But that doesn't mean there's not, there isn't a piece of the pie for, everybody. And groups like My Racehorse have given people the opportunity to buy, s- micro shares of horses. And those people, they love it. They do.
[00:40:51] They own a fraction of the horse, and they can't get enough of it.
[00:40:55] Lindsay: Yeah, and they won the Preakness with D. Wayne Lukas, right? You look at that experience and that type of thing, and yeah, it keeps going.
[00:41:02] Jayson: Yeah. Amazing. They got a, they have a hor- they own a horse named Bocchio.
[00:41:07] He- he'll be at the Breeders' Cup. We were at Royal Ascot this year. We're an Outfielder at Royal Ascot. Amazing experience, by the way. Royal Ascot is so cool.
[00:41:17] Lindsay: I've heard it's so great.
[00:41:18] Jayson: But we were there with, 'cause Ro- Wesley Ward trains Outfielder, and he trains Bocchio. We were there with the guys that own, half of Bocchio and, we, we were kinda like with their group and he's like the fastest horse in the world, and he'll be running at Keeneland this weekend with My Racehorse.
[00:41:35] But it was great. It was cool to see it. So when we started Icon, it was like, how do we wanna do this? It's not really a micro share thing like, like My Racehorse. It's $100,000 a share, so it's for accredited investors. Mm-hmm ... but it gives a, it gives...
[00:41:52] It breaks down the barrier to entry. We have a fund, so we buy 10, 11, 12 horses in the fund, and all your money goes to all the horses in the fund. So you get a piece of every horse in the fund. So it gives you kinda a diversified portfolio of horses that you can follow along during their racing careers.
[00:42:09] And, so far, it's been a lot of fun. We've had some success. It's horse racing, so you know, it's kinda like baseball where if you go one for four with a homer, you're a huge success. Like horse racing, if you win at 20%, you're like a Hall of Famer.
[00:42:28] So we're winning- we're winning around 50% right now. We've had some first-time winners. Our second, our first fund, has three horses. The second fund, there are two, and we just bought some horses for our third fund. So we named the first fund Affirmed after the Triple Crown winner Affirmed.
[00:42:45] The second fund is named Big Brown after Dornoch's grandsire, Big Brown, who won two legs of the Triple Crown. So A, B, and then our third fund, we named it Sierra Leone after the, you know-
[00:43:00] Lindsay: Yes ...
[00:43:00] Jayson: The, the horse that the, the boy ran second at the Derby, and it was Horse of the Year, Dornick's year.
[00:43:06] And, him and Dornick, battled all, all, summer or for those two summers. In fact, Dornick's claim to fame is he's the only horse to beat Sierra Leone and Mind Frame twice. So- love it ... that's our first three funds, and if we're lucky enough to do it next year, that fund will obviously be named DDornick- wel.l
[00:43:26] Lindsay: Do you...
[00:43:27] But you intend to do it next year, yeah?
[00:43:29] Jayson: Yeah, I mean, it's just, it's, we got, we're raising capital. We've raised over $3 million in the first two years. We're close to our third year, and if we keep going, we'll get a chance to do it again next year.
[00:43:46] And, next year, magically, the fund will be named Dornick, and Dornick's yearlings will be one year old.
[00:43:55] Lindsay: Are there a lot of your fellow, former athletes that are part of it?
[00:43:59] Jayson: Yeah, some guys have gotten in. Some guys are interested. Some guys are watching on the sidelines and it's...
[00:44:09] Horse racing's one of those things where I think for an owner, it, you gotta have time to do it. So, you know-
[00:44:18] Lindsay: Yeah ...
[00:44:19] Jayson: You take your young kids to Disney World; you take your older kids to horse racing. So when you get your kids into college and they're out of the house, I think that's kinda the time when you start to look outside of the box of what to invest in and what to, how to spend your time.
[00:44:35] most... I started early. My kids are in college. Most of my teammates, their kids are still fairly young. So I get it. A couple of guys have gotten in. But it's kind of a, it's an older crowd that wants to own the horses. The younger crowd kinda comes and bets on the horses.
[00:44:55] Lindsay: Is there a part of it, of the business that you have found yourself really surprisingly enjoying? Something like an aspect of horse racing and the ownership side that you didn't anticipate?
[00:45:08] Jayson: I, yeah, there's a lot of it because I just didn't; it was so foreign to me. So I'm like, I'm learning; I'm still learning so much.
[00:45:15] So there's the day-to-day of it. The, the, even like the buzzwords that you have, you, like the, the lingo, like the, the, the backside lingo of how they take care of the horses, what they, what they do on a day-to-day basis.
[00:45:33] The training of them. That's the part of it I really love 'cause I get, as an athlete, I know what it takes to be a professional athlete. People, 99% of the population, don't understand what a professional athlete does, day to day, hour to hour. And these horses are professional athletes.
[00:45:49] They train every day. They're regimented. They get, they train, they get bathed, they eat, they get their shoes cleaned, they get their stalls cleaned, they walk, they, they're doing stuff. Every hour, they have stuff for these horses to do.
[00:46:02] They rest at a certain time. That part, totally. I think it's really cool 'cause these guys, they are, they are professional athletes in their own right. They have off-seasons where they go to the farm, and they take their shoes off, and they let them run in the fields and be horses.
[00:46:20] So there's, there's a lot of aspects of it that I enjoy that I didn't know. Again, I mean, it was just, it wasn't that long ago where I didn't even know that, that this was a thing. So every day I'm learning something new and, with the syndicate, I'm managing, basically, three funds now of, horses and investors and, you have a fiduciary responsibility to, to, to my partners.
[00:46:47] I'm the biggest shareholder in the fund. So you get to own horses with me, shoulder to shoulder, and my partners. That's a little bit different than most syndicates. Most people just run the syndicates. They don't invest in it.
[00:46:59] Lindsay: Not in it. Yeah.
[00:47:00] Jayson: So this is a way for me to enjoy the sport and be diversified and play at the top level with a bunch of people.
[00:47:09] And we're, we wanna win big races and go to the events and go to the parties and, and live the life of a ... it's a sport of kings. Live the life of a, of a, one of the sheikhs or one of the billionaires. it's our way of, of playing at the, of, playing at the, at, at the big leagues.
[00:47:29] Lindsay: Right. Isn't it crazy when you think about the way that this all happened for you? And just the random Dornick story, the whole of it. It's like that, it's really awesome. It's, it is just sort of like you're exactly where you were supposed to be.
[00:47:41] Jayson: Yeah. I mean, it's, I mean, it's crazy. I mean, I think of it, I think about it all the time.
[00:47:45] We'll sit back, like when the kids come home and you're sitting around and you're, it's like family time. Thanksgiving- yeah... Christmas, and, what do you, what's, what do you do when you're all sitting around, and you watch Christmas Vacation, the Griswolds,or, you do, you have your, you play your board games- Oh, yeah
[00:48:05] or whatever. Well, now we go back and watch races. We go back around, around the- Really? Yeah. We'll go, all, all the different horses. We'll go back and watch all the races and talk about it. It's this, it creates this family vibe that you do together. And like I said, you take your young kids to Disney World, you take your older kids to the track, and then it brings them in too.
[00:48:26] It makes them hang out with you. You got that little, you got a box of five seats. They can't go anywhere, so you get to spend time with your older kids, right? Like it's, yes. 'cause once they leave, I, once I left home, I never went back.
[00:48:39] It was like, I know, I was like, man, it's gonna suck when your kids leave. You don't get to see them. But with horse racing, they gotta sit in the chair right next to you. They gotta watch the races. You come home for Christmas, the holidays, you get to turn on the races and watch it, relive it all.
[00:48:53] And, it's just been a, it's a great, and it was... So I don't, wouldn't say horse racing is considered a, a wholesome family sport or a, some- something that you would do with your family, but it really is. I mean, it's remarkable. I, it's funny, like when you're at Saratoga, you walk in, and it literally, you get all walks of life.
[00:49:15] There's not, you know-
[00:49:16] Lindsay: Yes ...
[00:49:16] Jayson: mo- most sports- are set up where the owners go in the back door, they go in the elevator, and they sit in their suites, and you never see them. In horse racing, you' seee, the, the, kings, the sheikhs, the big, the bigwigs, the billionaires, they walk through the same gate, they walk, they go up the same escalator.
[00:49:36] They walk around the same crowds of, as of, the guys betting $2 quinellas to save their lives. It is a very- yeah... interesting and very unique industry, and I love it.
[00:49:48] Lindsay: And also the fact that people can be in such proximity watching a moment that is a life-changing moment, like winning the Belmont or winning the Derby or whatever it is, you know what I mean?
[00:50:01] Just how close people are to seeing the actual family that wins that. I think that's really incredible. My favorite thing is, I just love being at the barns, especially in the morning. And it's funny, so when I started covering sports, I was covering motor sports, and I would tell my dad.
[00:50:18] My dad was a journalist for USA Today and covered horse racing there for years. That was his first beat.
[00:50:22] Jayson: And he- Oh, I didn't know that. That's cool.
[00:50:24] Lindsay: Yeah. So he would do that and then football. And he, but when I was covering motor sports, I was like, "Dad, this is like, being at the racetrack in the morning is my favorite time.
[00:50:33] It's just like you see the garage come alive, and there's just something really intoxicating and awesome about it." And he was like, "That's exactly what it's like in the barns." And I hadn't had that experience yet because I wasn't really brought into the sport until Flightline.
[00:50:49] So anyway, which is interesting because really it was the same time as you were because that was my first time covering Flightline at Keeneland, where I bumped into you.
[00:50:59] Jayson: That's where we are, that's where I ran into you at Keeneland. Yeah. Right before the race. We're like, what are you doing here?
[00:51:03] What are you doing here?"
[00:51:03] Lindsay: So, right, exactly. It was so out of place, and it was really amazing. But, and I had dragged, to your point, I had dragged my daughter, and it was great. And I, really, I love that you shared that. You're exactly right. It matches up perfectly for people that have kids that are about to leave the house, and you wanna have something to do with them for years to come.
[00:51:22] So is there something that you've learned, though, about the connection with the horse? Or just, have you just experienced a lot of
[00:51:31] Jayson: So, really cool moment. I did a commercial for Spendthrift for Doornick. And, and so I went, I got to spend half a day at the barn with him, and I was around him, and I hadn't seen him a whole lot.
[00:51:48] I mean, I go to Spend- Spendthrift, say hi, how you doing, whatever, but I spent a lot of time at the barn with him during that whole process, and he's the first colt that I fell in love with. And, and he's kind of a dick, He's, he's play- he's playful, but he'll also, he'll also, bite you hard.
[00:52:07] He thinks it's hilarious. You can give him a peppermint-
[00:52:11] Lindsay: How do you know he thinks it's hilarious?
[00:52:12] Jayson: He... Well, 'cause he just, he's playing. But it, you're like, "Ow", and you can see he gets all, he gets all excited about it if he finally gets you. There was one day some lady, like a 35-year-old woman, went to take a picture with him at the barn, maybe after the Belmont sometime, and he grabbed her by the arm and picked her up and shook her.
[00:52:31] I mean, he's... Those colts can be, I mean, they're wild animals. Right. They can be mean, I mean, they have personalities, and they can be sweet and whatever. So, I'll give him peppermints and pet him and get some time with him. I've never gotten a hug from him, ever.
[00:52:46] he always, he's always trying to rip my... They're like, "Be careful. If he gets your neck, he can..."
[00:52:53] Lindsay: You're not doing a lot for, like-
[00:52:56] Jayson: I'm like, say no more ... horse engagement. Yeah. But- so the day that I went, we went to Spendthrift; I was doing some stuff. We were ready. They walked him out, and they put him in his paddock.
[00:53:04] We got the film ready. The lighting was all right. And so we had to wait for the sun to get at the perfect time so the lighting was good. The golden hour. Yeah. So I walked out to his paddock. These horses get their own two-acre paddock or three-acre paddock. So we walked over there, and he was just standing in the paddock, and I, I made a noise. I whistled or whatever, and he turned and looked at me, and his eyes lit up, and his ears went like this, and he ran straight to me on a beeline. And I hugged him, and it was like-
[00:53:39] Lindsay: Aw
[00:53:39] Jayson: It was, like, the most special moment of all time. "Buddy, what's up?"
[00:53:46] Lindsay: Aw.
[00:53:47] Jayson: So that was like... I mean, you can't even, you can't make it up. He doesn't; they're like, "Geez, he doesn't... He must remember you." I'm like, he has to. There was no other reason for him to do that." So that was, like, that was a really cool moment.
[00:54:00] asAsool: As those horses are, they don't, they don't typically act like that,
[00:54:04] Lindsay: Oh my God. That's so special. Yeah. That's so special. Yeah, so special. What do you hope your future is like in the sport? What do you wanna accomplish?
[00:54:13] Jayson: So growing up, I wanted to be in the big leagues, and I wanted to make $10 million.
[00:54:19] That was my goal ...
[00:54:20] Lindsay: That, that amount. Like, why?
[00:54:23] Jayson: Did- That was my, that was it. That was, and, and looking back, I should've s- I should've set my sights on being a Hall of Famer and, like that ... Looking back, that's where my mindset should've been. And, and it became that later on, but it was like, I wish I would've had that; I wish I would've had the foresight to think that was possible.
[00:54:45] Lindsay: So- So you mean, and, just so I can clarify, because you should have set them higher is what you're saying. Like- yeah... 'cause then you would have strived for ...
[00:54:53] Jayson: Shoot, shoot for the stars, land on the moon,
[00:54:56] Lindsay: Okay.
[00:54:57] Jayson: Shoot for the moon, get the rocket into the atmosphere. It's like horse racing; I wanna win the Kentucky Derby. I wanna win. I go on Icon Racing to win the Kentucky Derby. That's my goal.
[00:55:13] Lindsay: I love that goal. That's awesome. Yeah. All right. Well, we'll be watching. Thanks, my friend. It's always great to talk to you. I mean, my takeaway is don't get on the bottom of a pile if you're in a championship celebration.
[00:55:27] Jayson: Sometimes, you can't help it, but hopefully there's somebody there to, to peel the people off you-
[00:55:31] Lindsay: Right ...
[00:55:31] Jayson: So you can take a breath.
[00:55:32] Lindsay: Also, definitely just keep going and believing in yourself even when you're getting advice or words that seem like maybe it's not the right direction, right?
[00:55:42] 'Cause that was the baseball piece. And then just, man, show up. That cra- the story about Dornick, I just, I don't think I've ever heard you describe it exactly that way, and that's pr- that's pretty freaking crazy, and awesome. Okay, wait. One thing you can't live without. The thing you can't live without before we go.
[00:56:00] Jayson: Air?
[00:56:02] Lindsay: Come on, man. You can do better than-
[00:56:04] Jayson: Okay. What, what can I not live without? Pizza, trips to Rome, vacationing in the BVI, going to races with me, the people I wanna go to races with. okay. What can I not live without? I cannot live without the Winner's Circle.
[00:56:28] It is the most addictive drug in the entire wor- world, and I cannot get enough. It is. There's something about that little place when that horse comes in, veins popping, just ran his eye, his or her eyeballs out, and, obviously, wanted to win that day for you, for us, for everybody. The moment that you share, you get to capture stuff like this right here.
[00:56:54] Lindsay: Flying Mohawk.
[00:56:55] Jayson: This is, this is what I cannot live without
[00:57:01] Lindsay: Thank you. Do you see what I'm saying about sort of the magic with just his story? It really is incredible, and I just love... I did not know that detail about Jason and baseball in terms of what he was feeling at the time when he won the World Series, and what that meant then for his career.
[00:57:20] So really, it's kinda like he had two different pivot points. No, not pivot points, 'cause he was still in baseball, but different lives of his, different careers in sports, and I love hearing those journeys. I also love hearing his details about when he won the Belmont. We will have the video of that and some of the photos that I took, because I...
[00:57:43] It was, by the way, just as jaw-dropping for me to be there and watch him at that moment. It almost was something that brought me to tears, because I felt, here's this guy whose trajectory I have watched in baseball. I saw what that meant. I understand sort of the emotion and just the ups and downs that go along with it.
[00:58:04] And then seeing this happen, it was just this weird out-of-body. And also, one of my biggest memories was that his wife, Julia, is amazing, and she's with him at all these horse races. And watching her reaction really stood out to me on that day when they won the Belmont with Dornick. And the way that he described what that meant in this podcast episode about being able to celebrate with your family, I hadn't thought about it that way, as I said.
[00:58:29] And so now, I am thinking about what that visual was like, watching Julia and his son, and his, yeah, his kids, and just everyone that was there to celebrate, that was really special, and certainly one of the reasons that I really love that sport as well. So anyway, huge thanks to Jason, who is such a sport.
[00:58:46] And, sorry for any language that might've been used. But he's a great one. And I appreciate you guys watching. As always, thank you so much for being a part of this community. And the best way to support this is to send this episode to a friend. Subscribe, review, do all the things, but please share TNOTY.
[00:59:07] And also go to our show notes. We'll have more from this episode, as I said. And for everyone our t- on our team- Sarah, Ashley, Sam, myself- thank you, and we will see you next week. And then you-
[00:59:22] Jayson: Yeah, ask me about stuff I actually know about. You mean you don't know about- I thought about horse racing.
[00:59:29] I really don't know anything about horse racing, but...
[00:59:31] Lindsay: Okay, Jason, show me your... What's, what do you have? What's your mug?
[00:59:35] Jayson: Well, I have, I have coffee. And then I have more coffee. I actually have tequila in here. I'm just kidding.
[00:59:43] Lindsay: Are you serious? You're kidding. So where did you
[00:59:45] Jayson: That's how my podcast goes.
[00:59:47] We usually drink our way through- you're all in ... a mess. Yeah.
