Justin Nicholson is a longtime owner-breeder of racehorses who co-founded Ninety North Racing Stable in 2011 and manages racing-breeding operations in the U.S. under his A J Suited Racing Stable. Nicholson, along with his wife, Kathryn Sharp, and Dan Tordjman co-founded Equestricon, the first horse racing/lifestyle event designed to celebrate the sport of racing with fans.

What I do for a living: I work in my family’s real estate investment and management business, own-breed racehorses, and work on planning Equestricon, horse racing’s biggest convention and fan festival!

What I like about Thoroughbred racing: I always wanted to be the general manager of a major league sports team growing up, and considering those jobs are awfully tough to come by, running a racing-breeding operation is about as close as I can get. There are a lot of similarities, though, like building a roster, determining how much to pay for each athlete, developing and training them properly to maximize their abilities, and constantly assessing their roles on your team. There’s no greater thrill than when the decisions you make along the way lead to a big win, especially with a horse you’ve bred and managed for years!

If I wasn’t in my current job, I would be a: Well, I guess I jumped the gun on this answer but probably a professional sports general manager. I’m a huge sports fan, football and hockey especially, and can only imagine what it would be like to sit in a draft war room and decide which players to pick to establish the foundation of a franchise for years to come.

Courtesy of Justin Nicholson

Best advice to someone considering becoming a Thoroughbred owner: I could write an essay on this one, but I’ll try to give three quick notes to boil it all down. 1. Try to find a team you can trust - the people who will advise you will have a huge impact on your experience. 2. If possible, consider starting your ownership experience in a partnership with friends or in a public syndicate so you don’t take on 100 percent of the risk. 3. This one’s a little broader, but prepare for ups and downs. Winning a race is a pretty amazing feeling, at any level, but there’s often a lot of down time in between, whether because horses are actually injured and out of training, or just because even when they’re fit they’re only running once every few weeks. If you want to get the most out of ownership, try to visit your horse in the morning and watch training, pay attention to the finances and learn where your money is going, ask questions of the trainer and learn what you can. You can get a lot out of ownership, even on the many days that your horse isn’t actually running.

Should the Breeders’ Cup rotate from coast to coast or have a permanent home: I’m good with moving around and giving different parts of the country a chance to see the best horses around.

Three favorite racetracks in order: Saratoga, Keeneland, Gulfstream

Most influential person in my career: My dad, Ronald Nicholson, who taught me a lot about both real estate and racing, and got me started in both.

My out-of-the-box idea for Thoroughbred racing: Plenty of answers I could give here too, but an easier one might be emphasizing distance racing again. Breeders breed to the races that are available and we’ve prioritized speed so much in our condition books, it’s hard to find classic pedigrees anymore. Distance races are more fun to watch and horses that excel at longer distances often tend to be more sturdily built. I’d love to see mile-and-a-quarter dirt allowance races on the regular.

Other sports/teams I follow: Football – New York Giants; Hockey – New York Rangers; Baseball – New York Yankees; and golf a decent bit

My favorite athletes of all time: Mark Messier and Eli Manning - the leaders of the Stanley Cup/Super Bowl wins my teams have had in recent memory.

What book(s) I am reading or have recently read: I’m a big podcast guy, so recently I’ve listened to “American Fiasco,” “Up and Vanished,” and now working through “Slow Burn.”

Favorite magazines: ESPN, Sports Illustrated, The Economist

Hobbies away from Thoroughbred racing: Golf, poker, travel

Favorite movies: “L.A. Confidential,” “Memento” (on my mind because I just saw it again this week), pretty much any Mel Brooks or Leslie Nielsen comedy.

Favorite TV shows: “The Simpsons” (somehow still pretty funny!), “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” and a lot of the Netflix crime documentary series

Favorite foods: Go-to is always a cheeseburger and fries, but more exotically, Mexican and Indian food. I make a mean Butter Chicken.

Favorite vacation spot: Went on a golf trip to Scotland in 2017 and going back again in 2019. Can’t wait for the second go-around!

Favorite musician/band: I go through phases, but considering I’ve listened to them a lot lately and they’re playing our Equestricon concert, I’m going Jukebox the Ghost, right now.

Favorite actor: Borrowing from my earlier answer, let’s say Mel Brooks and Leslie Nielsen.

Five websites I visit daily: espn.com, paulickreport.com, realclearpolitics.com, twitter.com, facebook.com

I’d like to have dinner with the following three people inside racing: It’s corny, but nothing beats an EQCon team dinner with Katie, Dan Tordjman, and Dan Montesano.

I’d like to have dinner with the following three people outside of racing: I guess it’s four people at the moment, but the living past presidents … would love to hear their stories, and I’m kind of a political junkie

Best racetrack food can be found at: Shake Shack at Saratoga

Accomplishment I am most proud of: We had four horses born in 2013, and for a moment in spring of 2016, two of them, Uncle Lino and Royal Artillery, were in the top 20 or 30 in the futures betting for the Kentucky Derby and the Epsom Derby, respectively. Uncle Lino ultimately ran in the Preakness and was a Grade-1 placed stakes winner and Royal Artillery later won a Group 3, but it was especially neat for that moment in time to imagine having horses we bred in the biggest classic races on both sides of the Atlantic!

My philosophy on life: In the words of the great Joe Walsh, “I can’t complain but sometimes I still do.”

Things I collect: Nothing at the moment really, but used to collect hockey cards and pogs as a kid.

Favorite charities: Between Equestricon and my own involvement in the racing world, I’ve been focused mainly on Thoroughbred charities in recent years. The two that have made the biggest impression are the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and the Man O’ War Project, each of which have been beneficiaries of and great partners to Equestricon.

Favorite authors: I don’t read nearly enough these days, aside from political commentary and news, but I do enjoy the Dick Francis novels and I’ve long been a fan of John Grisham, too.

Favorite animal other than a horse: Dogs, for sure, especially our two poodle mixes, Maggie and Ginny.

Favorite non-Thoroughbred racing sports event I have attended: Close battle between the 1994 Game 7 New York Rangers Stanley Cup win and the 2008 Super Bowl win for the Giants over the then-undefeated New England Patriots in Arizona. Got to share both with my dad, which made them even better!

Three words that define what Thoroughbred racing means to me: Passion. Competition. Fun.

Top three fashion brands: Peter Millar, Under Armour, Nike. Lots of golf gear.

Favorite month of the year: August in Saratoga

What apps are on your phone: Too many, but mainly use social apps, podcast app, Realclearpolitics, and, when in NYC, which is fairly frequently, Seamless.

Favorite summer cocktail: In the Derby spirit, probably a mint julep.

Favorite winter cocktail: Manhattan or Old Fashioned, always bourbon rather than rye, though.

Favorite all-time racehorse: I’m incredibly biased, but Bold Hawk.

Favorite racehorse currently competing: Imperial Hint, he’s a tiny thing, but man is he fast!

Favorite international racing event: We got to run a horse at Royal Ascot back in 2015 and it was amazing. Hoping to go back soon.

Three ways to attract more fans to the sport: Improve racetrack facilities (first hook in racing is usually a good experience AT the track), continue to improve aftercare efforts and ensure the public understands the progress being made, reduce takeout and/or do a better job of taking care of bettors (e.g. comps/rewards like casinos often do for people sitting in their sports books).

What do you drive for a car? Range Rover Sport

What’s your favorite gym exercise? Rowing machine - we recently got a water rower for our home and I absolutely love it

Who will win the Super Bowl this year? Kansas City Chiefs look awfully tough right now.

Esports: Yay or nay? Yay, though I wish it came together years ago when I was an avid gamer. I might’ve been able to justify all that time I spent in front of screens!

Favorite restaurant: A small diner chain in NYC called Jackson Hole. Massive burgers and just great diner food.

Last TV series you binge-watched was: “The Staircase,” a Netflix crime documentary

College or pro football: I went to a college with no football team, so it’s New York Giants through and through for me. Unfortunately, we aren’t very good right now!