April 11, 2024
Today’s Belmont Stakes will be the first of the three Triple Crown races instead of its usual concluding position. There won’t be spectators. But in a small bow to normality, there will be sponsors, and Sentient Jet will be there.
The jet card broker that invented the jet card will be sponsoring Sole Volante for the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes. Gone will be not only the crowds of spectators but even horse owners, in keeping with health and safety guidelines in New York designed to inhibit the spread of COVID-19.
The Kentucky Derby, which normally marks the start of the three races, will now be run on Sept. 5 with the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore providing the finale on Oct. 3.
Sentient’s sponsorship pick is Sole Volante. The 3-year-old thoroughbred – whose Italian name translates as flying sun is majority-owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, headed by Dean and Patti Reeves, and will be ridden by Jockey Luca Panici.
Sole Volante was purchased for $20,000, an unheard-of price for a Triple Crown contender, and its participation in this race shows how far the thoroughbred has come.
In a press release, the jet card broker said, the name “reflects the illuminating travel experience guests can anticipate on Sentient Jet.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and to join our clients Dean and Patti Reeves in cheering on Sole Volante in this year’s running of the Belmont Stakes,” said Andrew Collins, President and CEO of Sentient Jet, which is a full “This horse brings a consistent record across six career outings into the first leg of the Triple Crown, and with the backing of all of us at Sentient Jet, it has a lot of enthusiasm behind it.”
Dean and Patti Reeves added, ““This year’s Belmont Stakes is a singular race in a singular time for our country and the world. But like the champion we believe Sole Volante to be, you can’t keep a good horse down. While we won’t be trackside at Belmont Park, the cheering is going to get pretty loud come post time in Atlanta!”
Sentient said it will use the Belmont Stakes to provide visibility for its new marketing campaign under the banner of “Be Ready” launched last month. The new ads underscore the benefits of private travel for both personal and business use.
With airlines cutting service and consumers looking to minimize contact in crowded places, the most recent data from both Argus and WingX suggest private aviation is now operating at close to 75% of pre-COVID levels after being down to less than 20% in April.
