Embracing the Race

A passionate supporter of horse racing is trying to raise the sport’s profile
By Jennie Rees

Mike DeAnzeris would be an outstanding motivational speaker or preacher had his calling not been media marketing. As it is, profession merged with passion in his Embrace the Race line of racing apparel, jewelry and accessories that range from umbrellas and belts to dog collars, tote bags and duffels.

DeAnzeris, who in June opened an Embrace the Race store in downtown Saratoga Springs, New York, is not just selling racing merchandise. He’s selling the fervor, heart and spirit of Thoroughbred racing. In fact, you could call him an evangelist for the sport.

“I just connected in my mind and in my heart all the intangible things that people want to be a part of,” DeAnzeris said. “We believe in the aspiration for excellence … of everybody connected with horses pushing for something bigger, greater, never-ending.”

Embrace the Race is just one of DeAnzeris’ trademarked phrases for his merchandise line, others being “the exclusive provider of The Apparel for the Horse Racing Lifestyle” and “the Official Apparel of Horse Racing.” Other DeAnzeris sayings include “One Passion. One Sport. One Brand.” and “Wear What You Love.”

Greeting cards don’t have anything on embracetherace.com as far as inspiration goes, with the website bearing slogans like “A Magical Connection … Human and Horses unite producing everlasting emotions and memories, EMBRACE It.” There is also this: “What does it mean to you? It’s a power and aura that moves you. Visual, emotional, transcendent. This is the world of EMBRACE THE RACE.” And this: “The Passion of Horse Racing. The timeless sense of opportunity and possibilities. The allure and pursuit of achievement. The memories and moments that form a never-ending bond among those who share the experience.”

“We put forth the brand we feel that everyone in racing can be proud of,” said DeAnzeris, whose company contributes and donates product to many industry causes. “I am very much a part of the industry, but I still look at it from a consumer saying, ‘Man, I know racing has its ups and downs and ins and outs, but at the end of the day, it’s a wonderful intangible, tangible thing that people aspire to be a part of.’ We want to give people a way to express that through our brand.”

MIKE AND JILL DEANZERIS FELL IN LOVE WITH RACING AT SARATOGA.

DeAnzeris grew up in Connecticut, and while his dad and granddad were casual fans, he certainly did not grow up in a racing environment. He played college baseball as a shortstop for Villanova. “I was a good player on great teams. It was a wonderful experience. I walked on and then earned a scholarship and was captain. I think probably to a large extent I’m shaped by that experience and sort of what it takes to achieve at high levels.”

DeAnzeris entered the business world in trade and consumer marketing, ad sales and brand consulting in Boston. A client brought him to Albany, where he met his future wife, Jill, at Saratoga Race Course during a mutual client event. DeAnzeris fell in love with Jill, the track and the sport. They married in 2005 and have two children, 11-year-old Sophia and 8-year-old Michael, with DeAnzeris coaching both kids’ hockey teams as well as his son’s baseball team.

“When I moved to Saratoga, I very quickly realized a lot of great things about horse racing,” he said. “I followed it, and I was a fan, but I didn’t know that there was this massive industry on the B2B [business-to-business] side, nor did I understand the extent of the reach of the horse racing experience into the consumer world.

“We decided to raise our family in town,” he continued. “I went to the racetrack, bought part of a couple of horses, just got to know much more about it. With me being a brand person, a marketing person, a sports background, it sort of all started coming together. I would go to meetings and want to give a racing thing as a gift, and I wanted to wear a racing thing when I’d go play golf. There are some great things that I’d call singular events—a track, a race, a horse—but there wasn’t a brand I could find that exemplified the racing experience. Through a series of events, we created Embrace the Race. I actually used the phrase ‘embrace the race’ in an email on a plane to a friend of mine. And it’s so true.”

The distinctive Embrace the Race logo depicting a running horse and rider is made of nine curving strokes representing segments of the industry: breeder, owner, trainer, jockey, hotwalkers and grooms and other support staff, fans, handicappers, horses and tracks and wagering.

In that regard, Embrace the Race is a fitting industry partner with the National HBPA, acknowledging and paying tribute to the village it takes to build a racehorse.

“What I like about Embrace the Race, Mike and his family and putting together this operation is that they believe and they urge people to understand the Thoroughbred industry as an experience,” said Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA. “It’s unique and a wonderful thing in which to participate. They’ve become what I would call a brand for racing. I just feel their ability to capture that and express that through their logo and for them to be involved, they’re obviously fans, enthusiasts.

“The message from them is a great one for the industry,” Hamelback continued. “Because we all need to be more proactive about embracing this industry for what it is, for the love of the sport, for having the unique and special ability to work in this industry. For some who don’t necessarily understand it or live it, when they get in it, then they understand that it’s not just an industry. It’s not just a job. It’s a way of life. Embrace the Race gets that. That to me is what makes them special.”

Here’s what DeAnzeris said about the horsemen of the National HBPA: “I look at it as a collection of very passionate people who are serious and committed to their industry, and those are the people that we want our brand to be connected with.”

Embrace the Race has gone from an office with online retailing to a store with international business to a showcase brick-and-mortar location at 327 Broadway in the heart of Saratoga Springs. DeAnzeris said the store will be a “complete brand destination.” When it was suggested that it sounds like a horse-racing microcosm of L.L. Bean’s signature retail shop in Freeport, Maine, he agreed.

“You don’t just come to shop; you come to immerse yourself in the experience,” he said.

According to DeAnzeris, he and Jill have put their heart and soul into the business, but it has been a logical progression to this destination rather than it being their initial intention.

“We didn’t set out to create an apparel brand,” he said. “I set out to sort of embody all of that passion about racing and it evolved into an apparel brand. I used the phrase and then said, ‘I just want a really great logo to go with a great phrase. I don’t know how we’ll monetize it. Just create something that is great, cool, and you put your heart and mind into it and worry about monetizing it later.’ ”

DeAnzeris retains a consulting business with Embrace the Race, a full-time venture that includes customizing merchandise with logos, silks or stable names. He is supportive of numerous racing organizations, frequently supporting charitable ventures with donated products. Embrace the Race is a sponsor of the Lexington-based Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN) as well as a founding sponsor of the Thoroughbred Owner Conference and a supporter of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, the Maryland Horse Industry Foundation’s Maryland Thoroughbred Career Program and “countless retirement initiatives,” DeAnzeris said.

“The reason why we do it is we’re very proud of the industry we’re part of and extremely proud to represent it,” he said. “Getting involved with industry events, you can do right by doing good and help people find out about your brand. The racing industry is probably one of the most charitable industries you could be a part of. If you have an opportunity to help raise some money, to help a program take off so that new people can get involved in the industry, we want to be a part of that.”

Mike Penna, HRRN’s president and co-founder, hooked up with Embrace the Race through Sean Clancy, an HRRN analyst/trackside reporter who is publisher of the Saratoga Special, in which DeAnzeris advertises. Embrace the Race provides cool items for guests on HRRN’s popular Saturday morning show, “Equine Forum.”

“His whole philosophy when he started Embrace the Race was to create a brand that said you are a fan of the sport of horse racing—not just any one horse or any one trainer or any one jockey,” Penna said. “That’s all kind of rolled into it but more you’re fan of the entire sport. That’s the basis of everything he’s done. He put a ton of thought and money into that logo. He takes it a step further and talks about the passion of horse racing. It doesn’t matter what level it’s on, whether a groom or someone working on a farm or a guy like Todd Pletcher or Bob Baffert or an owner. It’s all tied into one, and everyone has that passion and love for the sport.”

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