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When Big Brown crossed the finish line Saturday to win the 134th Kentucky Derby, he carried United Parcel Service with him.
The UPS patch on the right leg of jockey Kent Desormeaux's riding pants revealed a special relationship between the horse and the company that claims brown as its official color.
UPS had sponsored a specific horse for the first time in its history and it hopes the payoff will come in the form of new business from racing fans worldwide, said Mike Mangeot, public relations manager for UPS Airlines in Louisville.
"We thought it was a real unique and great opportunity to have fun and promote the company," Mangeot said Monday.
The original sponsorship was just for the Derby, but "we are currently talking with the Big Brown people about the possibility of extending that," he said. No financial details were disclosed.
Two charities were immediate winners.
UPS, which has an international air hub in Louisville, had a side bet with Louisville-based KFC that if Big Brown outran Colonel John, the companies would donate $5,000 each to the Metro United Way. If Colonel John topped Big Brown, UPS would give $5,000 to The KFC Colonel's Scholars Program.
Because of Big Brown's win, Mangeot said, UPS will donate $5,000 to each charity, in addition to KFC's gift to the United Way.
Mangeot said UPS saw an opportunity that it couldn't pass up because Big Brown was named for UPS.
The horse is owned by IEAH Stables and Paul Pompa Jr., owner of Truck-Rite Corp. in Brooklyn, N.Y.
"Pompa was so happy after renewing a contract with UPS Freight in 2007 that he celebrated by naming his newly purchased thoroughbred Big Brown," UPS said last week in announcing the sponsorship.
Mangeot said UPS understood the risk of sponsoring a specific horse that might not do well in the race or might even suffer a fatal injury, like Eight Belles, the No. 2 horse in this year's Derby.
"We felt that the exposure we would get on the front end by doing the sponsorship was very, very worthwhile and a good deal," he said. "We did think about that (injury) possibility, but we felt the exposure would be worth it."
The death of Eight Belles was "a tragedy," he said, and UPS extends its sympathy to all who loved that horse.
Horse racing is an international sport and sponsoring a winner could help UPS grow internationally, Mangeot said.
"Our sports marketing is a good way to get to our target audience," he said.
In addition, "we are one of the largest employers in the Bluegrass and the largest employer in Louisville," he said. "It makes a lot of sense from a good will perspective and an employee relations perspective to be involved with the race, especially with the horse being named for us."
