The People's Horse Revolution
Join the first campaign to crowdsource a thoroughbred racehorse.
Horses move us. They represent power and hope, but they are so expensive that one of our most ancient pastimes has been controlled by the wealthy few.
We're changing that history with The People's Horse, the first-ever campaign that gives us all a chance to have a horse in the race. Already, we've become the largest racing club in America, and have secured enough funding to stable and train a horse for a year. Now we need your help to purchase our horse. The People's Horse.
Join over 220 Founding Members across the world as we crash the Sport of Kings and begin this living story—the first of many—as players, not spectators.
What It Means To Be In Our Stable
Experience horse ownership up close.
*Founding Members get voting rights on all stable matters. Help choose our trainer, breeder, and get a chance to name The People's Horse and make racing history.
*Interview experts, and get live updates via horse cam, jockey jam, and deep dives on The Sport of Kings.
*Head to the barn for field trips and the track for race day parties.
*Be among the first recipients of the True Lucky Piece, your pass to our roster of one-of-a-kind experiences. See below!
Who We Are
This live story is part of True.Ink, a new experiential magazine.
Racing horses is a pastime that predates Roman times, and it's a secretive world very few have a chance to enter. We're breaking into the game—all of us—by creating a new alliance and new way to live and experience stories.
Welcome to True.Ink, the revival of an old school adventure magazine from the 1940's, and where writers like Ernest Hemingway wrote about exotic topics like running with the bulls and finding buried treasure.
We've re-imagined that old spirit as a place where tall tales come alive. We don't only tell stories. We put you in them.
TRUE ACCESS
Be Part Of The Club That Makes Impossible Dreams Come True
Instead of covering the world, we're building our own. We're looking to take stakes in a winery, a farm, a historic schooner, old British sports car, and other once-in-a lifetime pursuits we could never achieve unless we went in on them together, and collective tales that offer us an escape from our increasingly cluttered, digital world.
The passport to our world is the True Lucky Piece, our version of a membership card and the skeleton key to a life of adventure and ballyhoo. Lucky Pieces are not for sale to the public and now only available for purchase through this campaign.
This Year's Summer Calendar
From Patton to Belmont to Genghis Khan.
This calendar year is already filled with a roster of eccentric happenings for True Lucky Piece holders and their guests.
—On June 3rd and 4th, we'll be sailing General George Patton's old wooden schooner through New York Harbor and later through the Great Lakes.
—On June 9th and 11th, we'll be cooking up breakfast at Belmont Park with trainers and celebrating later at the Belmont Stakes.
—On June 18th, we'll be celebrating Father's Day back at Belmont with a behind the scenes tour of the historic racetrack and a day long trackside barbecue.
—On June 21st, we'll be celebrating the new herring run in Amsterdam with a complimentary herring and Dutch gin tasting at the Grand Central Oyster bar.
—On July 4th, we'll be hosting a beach barbecue on the shores of Fire Island.
—On July 23rd, we head into the Catskills for our first annual summer barn dance and short documentary film festival. (Bonfire included; tents, no.)
—On August 6th and 7th, we head to Saratoga Springs for the legendary Fasig-Tipton horse auction.
—On August 13th, we'll be hosting our own Feasts of Pomodoro jamboree back in New York, celebrating the summer tomato season and canning our own sauce.
—On August 20th, we arrive in Almeria for the legendary flamenco and bullfighting festival in the South of Spain.
—On September 4th, we leave for Mongolia with our expedition team to search for Genghis Khan's missing tomb.
Why Start With A Racehorse?
Be Part of An Ancient Relationship In Modern Times
We're crowdsourcing a racehorse not only because we met a down on his luck gambler in a supermarket check out line, although it did happen that way, and you should read our series about the Wiz.
We have other reasons too—you can find them all here. Above all, The People's Horse is a chance for us to be part of something greater— a chance to be a part of history, and a chance to embrace a tale that has no clear middle or end.
We start with a name, and have received hundreds of entries over the past few weeks, including this gem from The Most Interesting Man In The World.
And here are a few others to get you thinking...
Our Triple Crown Run
We've made an incredible journey, starting at this year's Kentucky Derby.
Horse Shopping
We need your help to buy the The People's Horse and start racing.
Now that we've secured enough funds for training, we're starting to investigate the finer details of what we need to look for in a racehorse. Already, we've made friends with the leading agents in the game, and the hidden force behind the success of American Pharaoh, the first Triple Crown winner in decades, and other champions. Check out our interview here with Jeff Seder, a former Harvard lawyer who cut his teeth analyzing the Olympic bobsled team and applied his methodology to horses.
Share The Horse
Bring friends into the barn and receive free perks.
What's the point of getting behind a horse if you can't share the experience with friends? Here's how Founding Members are recruiting friends and winning big.
Others have asked a number of questions, and we've assembled a brief FAQ for questions on the horse here.
HOW MUCH IS THE HORSE?
The price of horses varies dramatically — from more affordable elderly horses to multi-million dollar babies that have pedigree.
WHAT KIND OF HORSE CAN WE GET?
We believe our horse should be competitive. We'll seek a minimum $35,000 in funding to purchase our first horse.
CAN WE BUY A MORE COMPETITIVE RACEHORSE IF WE RAISE MORE FUNDS?
YES!
WHAT IF 'THE PEOPLE'S HORSE' ACTUALLY WINS PRIZE MONEY?
The People's Horse is not an investment vehicle. However, in the event True Stables earns profits that surpass expenses, True.Ink's editors will present a number of options on how the winnings will be spent. Our Stablemates can help us choose where we spend our winnings. More horses? Lower membership fees? That winery? Or maybe something we can all sail around in?
WILL STABLEMATES LEGALLY OWN A SHARE IN THE HORSE?
No. Due to the strict laws surrounding the ownership of racehorses, it would be unfeasible for every Stablemate to be subject to background checks and fingerprinting for fractional interest. To make this project happen, True Stables will operate akin to a club. The club will own the horse and assume legal and administrative duties. The Stablemates (you) serve as members.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A YEAR OF RACING?
If we are lucky enough to have a healthy horse, and our community is as committed as we believe it will be, our second year will be our best. Can we enter and win major races, perhaps even a race like the Kentucky Derby? It's a big dream, but with our Stablemates in the saddle, big dreams might just come true.
In horse racing, any horse has in the race has a chance to close strong, like the great Harlan's Holiday here, who arguably got us into this dreamy mess.
