Itsaknockout promotion adds punch to Derby Day

As if Saturday’s championship fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao needs any more publicity, along comes the aptly named Itsaknockout, who’ll provide fans one last reminder of the bout four hours before the fight starts as one of the 20 starters in this year’s Kentucky Derby.

Through an arrangement reached between the horse’s owners, Starlight Racing, and the promoters of the fight, Itsaknockout will wear a brightly colored blanket emblazoned with the names of the two fighters prior to being saddled in the paddock. In addition, the connections of Itsaknockout will wear apparel to promote the bout throughout the day and during the Derby walkover, while the 3-year-old’s jockey, Luis Saez, will ride the race wearing pants with the name Mayweather on one leg, Pacquiao on the other.

“Itsaknockout is an ideal last-minute reminder about the fight, especially for the fans who are not quite as tuned in to boxing,” said Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president and general manager at Showtime Sports, which along with HBO is producing and distributing the pay-per-view event.

It took a stroke of luck for Itsaknockout to become one of only 20 3-year-olds in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby on the same day as the fight.

“Maybe all this is the Derby gods telling us they want to win this year,” Starlight founder Jack Wolf said.

Wolf said Itsaknockout was a last-minute selection as a name for his horse.

“We usually wait until shortly before the final payment deadline, Feb. 1, to name our 2-year-olds, the process being we choose a name from options selected by all the partners,” Wolf explained. “But we got right up to a day before the deadline and this horse still had no name. So my wife decided on Itsaknockout because the sire’s name, Lemon Drop Kid, sounded like a boxer to her.”

Wolf said he started the process to make a deal with the fight’s promoters following a suggestion made by jockey agent Ron Anderson immediately after Itsaknockout’s victory in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park. Wolf reached out to Chris Mara, senior vice president for player personnel for the New York Giants and a partner in Itsaknockout, to see if he had any contacts who might be able to broker the deal.

“Chris put us in touch with 16W, a marketing firm out of New Jersey, who represents former NFL quarterbacks Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms and have done a lot of business with Showtime in the past,” Wolf said. “And the whole thing just took off from there.

Wolf said he has already been fitted with what he described as “a very colorful” outfit for Derby Day.

“I have my hoodie on right now,” Wolf said.

As for whether he’ll actually watch the fight, scheduled to begin at approximately 11 p.m. Eastern time, Wolf quipped: “After spending Derby Day at the track, I’d make the over-under on me still being awake that night at 9 o’clock. And I’d take the under.”