Chef Bobby Flay Becomes a 2022 Belmont Stakes Owner in the Nick of Time
The list of Belmont Stakes horse owners now includes celebrity chef Bobby Flay, who acquired an interest in the horse We the People.
June 7 2022, Published 2:24 p.m. ET
The list of 2022 Belmont Stakes horse owners just got a celebrity addition. Chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay announced on Monday, June 6 — mere days before the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 11 — that he had acquired an interest in the horse We the People.
The Food Network star joins an ownership group that includes WinStar Farm of Versailles, Ky., Siena Farm, of Paris, Ky., and the micro share investment organization CMNWLTH.
“I’m thrilled to join the We the People team,” Flay said in a press release on Monday. “I have been an admirer of this colt since he started his career at the beginning of this year. I want to thank Lisa and Kenny Troutt of WinStar for giving me this exciting opportunity.”
Elliott Walden, the president, CEO, and racing manager of WinStar, echoed the enthusiasm, saying, “We appreciate Bobby wanting to partner with us again. He is great for the business and a great partner.”
Flay’s We the People is the morning-line favorite in the 2022 Belmont Stakes.
According to an America’s Best Racing cheat sheet, these are the 2022 Belmont Stakes horses, morning-line odds, jockeys, trainers, and owners.
Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner(s) |
---|---|---|---|
We the People (2-1) | Flavien Prat | Rodolphe Brisset | WinStar Farm, CMNWLTH, Siena Farm, and Bobby Flay |
Skippylongstocking (20-1) | Manny Franco | Saffie Joseph Jr. | Daniel Alonso |
Nest (8-1) | Jose Ortiz | Todd Pletcher | Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Michael House |
Rich Strike (7-2) | Sonny Leon | Eric Reed | RED TR-Racing |
Creative Minister (6-1) | Brian Hernandez Jr. | Ken McPeek | Fern Circle Stables, Back Racing, and Magdalena Racing |
Mo Donegal (5-2) | Irad Ortiz Jr. | Todd Pletcher | Donegal Racing and Repole Stable |
Golden Glider (20-1) | Dylan Davis | Mark Casse | Gary Barber, Manfred Conrad, and Penny Conrad |
Barber Road (10-1) | Joel Rosario | John Ortiz | WSS Racing |
NBC Sports will handle coverage of Saturday’s Belmont Stakes on TV, the NBCSports.com website, the NBC Sports app, and the Peacock streaming platform before, during, and after the race. Live TV coverage, broadcast from Belmont Park in Elmore, N.Y., will start at 3 p.m. EST on CNBC before moving to NBC at 5 p.m. EST.
One of Flay’s horses has won the Belmont Stakes before.
A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, Flay is best known for his TV career, as the host of Food Network shows including Throwdown! With Bobby Flay, Brunch @ Bobby’s, and Beat Bobby Flay. His restaurants include Amalfi in Las Vegas and the fast-casual chain Bobby’s Burger Palace. And he’s the author of cookbooks including Bobby Flay Fit: 200 Recipes for a Healthy Lifestyle and Bobby at Home: Fearless Flavors from My Kitchen.
But as his America’s Best Racing bio attests, Flay also has a long history with horse racing. His filly More Than Real won the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, for example, and another of his horses, Pizza Bianca, won the same race in 2021.
In 2016, Flay bought an interest in Arkansas Derby winner Creator, another WinStar Farm horse, before Creator won that year’s Belmont Stakes. “Winning the 2016 Belmont with Creator will be a moment that me and my family will never forget,” Flay said in Monday’s press release.