Icon Racing was called up to the big leagues July 17 as they sent their first starter to the gate, and then hit the first pitch out of the park as 2-year-old filly Sacred Goddess broke her and the syndicate's maiden at Saratoga Race Course.
Icon was the idea of Jayson Werth, a former Major League Baseball All-Star and World Series Champion, and Ken Kuykendall. Following his success last year when winning the Belmont Stakes (G1) and Haskell Stakes (G1) with Dornoch as a co-owner, Werth set out on a mission to bring friends, family, and potentially other "iconic" people into an industry he fell in love with.
READ: Werth Looking to Keep Racing Iconic With New Venture
"Horse racing is just so fun, but it's so hard to get into. The barriers to entry are tough," Werth said in the winner's circle Thursday. "Ken and I put our heads together and came up with an idea, and we've got some really nice people that believed in us, saw our vision, and wanted to be a part of it."
Kuykendall said it was Werth's passion for wanting to make it easier for people to enter the sport that immediately drew his interest.
"He was very passionate about trying to take away barriers to entry, trying to make it easier for people to get into racing, and trying to do something special," Kuykendall said. "I was all in, and it's great that we were able to be successful right off the bat."
One of those who bought into the mission of Icon Racing was Brian Boulerice, a golf buddy of Werth's. A lifelong fan of Thoroughbred racing, Boulerice and his friend Scott "Hudgey" Hudgens were eager to join when the syndicate was pitched to them. Boulerice made his first visit to Saratoga Thursday, getting a behind-the-scenes look at morning training and the barn area ahead of the race.
"Today was about as special as it gets," Boulerice said. "They keep saying it, but it's always about the people. The way that they've done it, it's a hard sport to get into, but I knew if I could participate with guys like this, good things would work out."
As for Sacred Goddess, her neck victory was full of determination as she showed the same grit and focus that Werth did in the batter's box. The New York-bred daughter of Kantharos that Icon owns in partnership with Team Penney Racing and Peter Dorsman Racing completed her 5 1/2-furlong debut on the grass in 1:03.69 under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr..
A $200,000 purchase at the 2025 Ocala Breeders' Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training with the help of agents Legion Bloodstock, trainer Jeremiah Englehart said he started to see a positive change in her attitude once he started training her for the turf.
"She started getting more aggressive and more aggressive, we like to see that," Englehart said. "In the mornings, I always kind of thought she wanted something to stalk, and that's what I told Irad. I said, 'She might show speed, but I think she wants something to run at.'"
Englehart was not aware he would be Icon's first starter when he initially entered the filly, joking that he threw up after finding out. However, the trainer from Jamestown, N.Y., is no stranger to performing in high-pressure situations, having hit a walkoff three-run home run when he was 12.
"This was probably the second biggest thing that happened to me other than that three-run home run," Englehart joked.
Englehart said he watched Werth's entry in the sport from afar last year with Dornoch, always being impressed by his passion.
"The passion that he puts into it, it's second to none really," he said. "Everything that Jayson is trying to do with Icon Racing, it's started by the right people. He's trying to build and get people excited about the sport."
Now that the first win is under Icon's belt, Werth wasn't sure if the feeling compared better to starting off the season with an Opening Day win or the pressure of earning a victory in the playoffs. Regardless, the feeling was nothing but special.
"There's nothing like winning," Werth said, "and nothing like winning at Saratoga."
