How NFL quarterback Lamar Jackson is leveraging his horse racing group to building up Baltimore

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has a unique objective each at the soccer box and as proprietor of the Maryland Colts horse racing franchise within the National Thoroughbred League.

“I just want to win a championship,” Jackson advised CNBC. “I want to win one in the National Football League. I want to win one in the NTL.”

Jackson bought the Maryland Colts in 2024, basing the franchise in Baltimore the place the Colt moniker was once up to now connected to a Super Bowl-winning National Football League group.

The Maryland Colts are a part of the 10-franchise NTL, which operates a brand new team-based thought for horse racing. Teams earn issues according to how their horses and jockeys end in each and every pageant, very similar to auto racing. Those issues are totaled on the finish of the season to resolve the winner of the NTL Championship.

Jackson is a part of a rising pattern of lively and retired NFL quarterbacks on the lookout for fairness in sports activities groups.

Legendary quarterback Tom Brady is a minority proprietor within the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, and previous NFL quarterback Peyton Manning is a minority proprietor within the National Basketball Association’s Memphis Grizzlies.

Current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has a stake within the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball, Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer and the Miami Pickleball Club of Major League Pickleball. He additionally invested in Formula 1’s Alpine auto racing group.

Jackson stated past the Colts, he has no instant plans to take possession in different sports activities groups. Instead, the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player is curious about developing an affect.

“When we are looking to invest, it has to be something meaningful. I have to see long-term goals when I’m doing something,” Jackson stated. “That’s how I move when I’m in the investing space.”

In addition to bringing a horse racing group to the town, Jackson hopes to deliver new alternatives to the younger other people of Baltimore.

On Saturday, because the NTL kicked off its 2025 season at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Jackson hosted a group day the place he invited younger other people to be informed about horse racing and careers within the business.

“The reason I got involved in the NTL is I saw the vision. Giving back to the underprivileged, this is a no-brainer for me,” he stated. “There are a lot of underprivileged kids in Baltimore, and they look at the football players for hope and guidance.”

The Colts positioned 3rd within the opening race weekend.

Jackson performed school soccer on the University of Louisville, a couple of mile clear of famed race monitor Churchill Downs, house of the Kentucky Derby. But Lamar stated he by no means attended the race whilst in school.

Still, his love for horses began a lot more youthful, as he grew up in Florida.

“I was always intrigued with horses,” Jackson stated, “I’m from Cypress, a small town in Pompano Beach. There was always this horse track and horse racing going on in our area.”

The NTL is solely one of the efforts to modernize horse racing. All 3 tracks that host the Triple Crown of horse racing have deliberate initiatives to modernize and draw in new lovers.

Churchill Downs introduced a just about $1 billion renovation plan in February prior to suspending the ones plans because of price lists. Pimlico, which hosts the Preakness, will start a $400 million renovation after the race on Saturday. Belmont Park within the suburbs of New York City is within the technique of a greater than $455 million renovation.