My favorite leg of this journey so far, at least in terms of scenery, has to be the drive from Asheville, North Carolina to Louisville, KY. Not only does it take you through the great Smokey Mountains, but also the bluegrass farm country of Lexington. Sorry, 1-95, I do not miss you.
I arrived in Louisville on Monday night and the following morning, met Jeff Lifson ’86 at Churchill Downs. Wearing cargo shorts and sneakers, he waved me into the parking lot of ‘The Backside’. We walked through the stables, passing horses with price tags equivalent to that of a Williams education…plus some more. Jeff is the Vice President of Midwest Operations for Westpoint Thoroughbreds, where he sells ownership stakes of racehorses to enthusiasts. From what he tells me, his job is akin to that of an investment portfolio manager – but theses investments just happen to have four legs. But, as he puts it, he’s really in the “entertainment industry”. Horseracing is more about the experience than the earnings, and part of his job is to create that experience.
Jeff hasn’t always been in the business though. His first job out of college was at Bain in Boston. He soon left consulting to be a journalist and television newscaster and then found his way to Westpoint Thoroughbreds. But rather than expand on the details of Jeff’s career – I thought this would be a good time let his success speak for itself, via video.
Here’s a clip of my encounter with Macho Again, one of Westpoint’s most successful racers. Last year, he took second at Preakness. I’m sure all you ‘09ers who stopped at the race last year on your way to Hilton Head remember it vividly.
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