A National Thoroughbred League franchise in Miami has been purchased for $1 million by a group led by a longtime Goldman Sachs financial advisor that also includes founding A Tribe Called Quest member Jarobi White and Hall of Fame jockey José Santos.
The deal, announced May 9, will see the franchise rebranded from the Miami Seahorses to the Miami Thunderbolts. The group is buying the team from the league itself, which launched in late 2023. In addition to former Goldman Sachs managing director Jason Wiesenfeld, White, and Santos, the buying group includes Tony Award–winning poet and actor Lemon Andersen, private-equity executive Glenn Kaufman, and more.
Other notable investors in NTL include legendary basketball player Julius Erving (Dr. J), who joined the league last year as part of the Philadelphia Stallions ownership group, as well as hip-hop stars Rick Ross and Nelly, who co-own the New Jersey Racing Club.
Financial details were not disclosed, and the ownership group declined to comment. Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Front Office Sports that the agreement is worth $1 million.
The NTL aims to change the perception of horse racing by making it more like other major sports—with teams that fans can follow—and giving horses longer and safer careers so they can become household names like renowned horses Secretariat and Seabiscuit.
“The core idea is that horse racing is a $15 billion sport, but while every other major sport has been growing as a tremendous asset class, horse racing has been much more flat,” says NTL cofounder Randall Lane.
In modern horse racing, it’s common for horses to be retired after just a few races, but the reason behind that practice has nothing to do with safety, Lane says. “Horses are retired because they’re valuable as breeders,” he tells FOS. “LeBron James wins Rookie of the Year and you get to enjoy him for 20 years. Horse racing doesn’t have that.”
The NTL emphasizes safety, with Lane saying they space events at least one month away from each other, which is “optimum spacing for safety.”
Unlike the Kentucky Derby or Belmont Stakes, the NTL focuses on good competition, not every millisecond a horse can shave off its time.
“In our league, what we care about is a close race,” Wiesenfeld says. “We’ve changed the incentive from needing the fastest horse to needing the best-looking, healthiest horse that has the best story.”
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), an organization set up to oversee thoroughbred racing in the U.S., tells FOS that it considers itself an ally of the NTL.
This year, the NTL is holding four events with more than $2.5 million in total purses. The first event of the season, held last weekend, was hosted by NFL superstar and two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, who is the lead owner of another franchise, the Maryland Colts, at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. The winner was the New York Knights. The Thunderbolts placed second.
There are 10 total teams in the league. Currently, all the races are broadcast on FanDuel TV, and the league is angling for a larger media deal down the road, Lane says.
Another investor in the league is Kai Cunningham, who cofounded VC firm Limited Ventures and works with Jackson on his investments. He tells FOS he was interested in bringing the same kind of “cultural element” to the NTL that the Kentucky Derby and Preakness have. “Athletes have so much influence. So the idea of having someone like Nelly on the cap table in the National Thoroughbred League, or Dr. J, their respective followings are going to be now interested in what they’re interested in,” he says.
White, who last year was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of A Tribe Called Quest, tells FOS he joined the Thunderbolts ownership group for a number of reasons, including an interest in horse racing and a sense of history. African Americans were among the original horseracing professionals, including Oliver Lewis, who rode Aristides, winner of the first Kentucky Derby in 1875.
“There’s the whole history of African American jockeys,” he tells FOS. “[The NTL is] a way for horse racing to be a little more accessible to people. I’m going to be involved in everything, from the ground floor. I’ll be at all the events, all of it.”
