Key Takeaways
- Russell Wilson and Ciara launched Three Brand Racing, and their first starter, Club Reign, won its debut at Saratoga by six lengths on Travers Day.
- Wilson called the family-focused venture “a blessing,” crediting his brother Harry and horseback-riding daughter Sienna with helping inspire his interest in ownership.
- The win gave the retired 10-time Pro Bowler a fresh competitive rush as he prepares to begin his next chapter as a CBS Sports analyst.
Russell Wilson apparently didn’t leave his winning ways on the football field.
The retired NFL quarterback and his longtime wife, Ciara, recently entered the horse-racing business with Three Brand Racing—and their first-ever starter promptly won. According to The Times-Union, Club Reign took the opening race on Travers Day at Saratoga Race Course, blowing past a field of six other 2-year-olds for a six-length victory.
Not a bad debut.
“Man, what an exciting day,” Wilson said afterward. “We’re so excited for Three Brand Racing and, obviously, Club Reign. What a blessing.”
Wilson said the team already believed it had something special in Club Reign, who was ridden by Edgard Zayas and trained by Whit Beckman. But winning immediately—at Saratoga, on one of the biggest days of the racing calendar—gave the new venture quite an introduction.
“We felt like we had a tremendous athlete in this horse,” Wilson said. “He’s our first one for me and Ciara and our team, our Three Brand Racing team, and to come out here and to win in Saratoga—and he won by a lot. He’s a fast horse.”
Ciara and the couple’s children were there for the winner’s-circle celebration, which was fitting considering Wilson says Three Brand Racing was designed as a family venture from the beginning.
The operation takes its name from Wilson’s 3BRAND apparel company, but his interest in horses goes back further. Wilson credited his brother Harry, who lives in Louisville, Kentucky—one of the centers of American thoroughbred racing—with helping spark his interest in ownership. His and Ciara’s 9-year-old daughter Sienna is also an avid horseback rider.
“We felt like this would be a good thing for the family,” Wilson explained. “No matter what happens, let’s do some cool stuff. I love competing, I love our family competing, and our Three Brand Racing team loves it, too.”
Competition has taken on a different form for Wilson this summer.
Horse racing, however, appears to be scratching some of that competitive itch.
“There’s nothing like holding that Lombardi Trophy in front of hundreds and hundreds of millions of people,” Wilson said. Still, he admitted his first afternoon as a winning owner delivered its own rush.
“To win on Travers Day, to win in Saratoga first race out, it feels like rookie of the year.”
Then came one final touch.
After guiding Club Reign to the win, Zayas walked up to the former Broncos quarterback and delivered a phrase Wilson knows extremely well.
“He comes right up to me and goes, ‘Let’s ride,’” Wilson recalled.
Wilson could only laugh. “So, that was funny.”
