Pimlico Race Course Backstretch creates unique topics with Pimlico Race Course Backstretch, the biggest name for Racing. It’s an experience that racing fans dream of. See the stars in all directions.
Pimlico’s Sunrise Tour will provide the experience for race fans, with one of the most popular characters on the pre-race tour on May 17th is Arkansas Derby winner and Preakness attendant Sandman. Greycolt’s popularity is not only due to his impressive appearance, but also to the hard work and dedication of Griffin Johnson, who transformed Tapit’s son into an internet superstar.
A social media influencer with over 14 million followers on Tiktok, Instagram and X, Johnson was a popular attraction on Backstretch himself. Every morning, he takes photos with his fans, is interviewed by the media, and even receives gifts like Sandman’s hand-drawn images.
However, it was not only the tour guests who had the opportunity to introduce themselves to Johnson, but also many members of the horse racing industry. Most, if not all, of the same phrases are expressed as the first repetition of Johnson.
“I’m really grateful to everyone here who says because it’s the person I’m trying to talk to,” Johnson said. “I just want to make sure I do it with the most respectful and grace possible.”
Johnson is a newcomer in the thoroughbred industry, but he’s already had a huge impact. As Sandman’s 2.5% stakeholder (Johnson is the equivalent of one hoove), Johnson has gained a large audience, including a majority of viewers in the 16-28-year-old age group. Woodford Reserve.
From May 20th to May 20th, Johnson has created 51 social media posts (not including Snapchat or Instagram stories) related to Sandman and Derby. These posts received over 212.2 million impressions, 3.3 million engagements and 35 million views. Additionally, Johnson has appeared in many articles, appearing on television, radio, podcasts and digital streams.
Furthermore, America’s best races recorded the most impactful two-week stretch in the company’s history, which led to the Derby thanks to Johnson. Best Race, a fan development and marketing company run through Jockey Club Media Ventures, saw an increase in impressions by 586%, engagement by 311% and video views by 545%. Only about a third of 503 posts are about Johnson or Sandman, showing how that influence took over throughout the Derby.
That attention has brought new viewers to America’s biggest races, contributing to $349 million bets and the biggest television audience in the race since 1989.
“When you look at the sport itself, the only thing that keeps you from being one of the most popular sports in the world is the industry itself. It’s always been slow to adapt your marketing,” Johnson said. “When I peeled it off, I understood why there were so many set-offs to bring it to the public. People want to make sure that people who enter the sport are here for the right reasons.”
Johnson’s entry into the industry is a breath of fresh air, indicating that social media could become a major marketing tool to guide new, younger audiences.
“Using (social media) will change the trajectory of the sport for the future. You just bring in the right people and have a class about it. It’s important to bring in the right influencers and be classy about it.”
Johnson’s rise in social media
The man fueled by what has become one of the sports’ biggest marketing success stories, comes from a humble beginning. Growing up in Paris, Illinois, with a population of just over 8,000, Johnson grew up on a local farm dealing in hay and alfalfa. He didn’t work much with livestock, but he was always around them and raised a love for animals.
In 2019, while attending Indiana State University as a nursing student, Johnson could hear about a new app called Tiktok, create videos, and potentially earn a little cash.
“I’m broken,” Johnson said of his college days. “I heard you could make money and said, ‘Sign up.’ ”
Sign-up ultimately changed Johnson’s life in ways he never imagined. Following Johnson, who posts a video showing the “seedlings” of nursing students, quickly grew to 1 million followers in the second half of 2019.
The following spring, when Tiktok began to gain popularity among the general public during the Covid-19 pandemic, Johnson and a few friends whom they made in the world of social media moved to Los Angeles, California, where they got a home where they could film content.
“It was basically a group of guys who came together every day to film content,” Johnson said. “Dynamics, our friendship, how we were overcoming life during Covid. No one could leave their home, so the kids led to it.”
His connections with his audience helped him grow Johnson’s followers further and have many different opportunities to experience what he enjoyed. He shared them with his followers as an influencer. The term influencer throws a lot of things on people with careers on social media, often bringing negative connotations. Griffin said there’s no problem with him being called an influencer, or that Race is called him. Influencer. ”
“There’s a difference, there’s a creator, there’s an influencer,” Johnson explained that 99.9% of people who post online say they’re creators. “The difference comes down to the way an entrepreneur thinks and you’re actually doing the real thing. It’s hard to do what you actually love and create a good story.”
His audience saw the joys of his authentic racing and embraced Johnson’s passion for the sport. Many of his posts about Derby Time received comments from followers who said they saw their first Kentucky Derby thanks to Johnson and Sandman. In his six years as an influencer, Johnson said that moving to race content was the easiest for the fanbase and showed general curiosity about the industry.
“I’ve done a lot of different verticals over the years, and I’ve experienced a lot of different things that interest me,” Johnson said. “Horse racing was the easiest conversion from my audience who appreciates what I do every day. Before I did this, it was about daily lifestyle content and things with my girlfriend. People are really really passionate about it.
Please enter your sandman
The show’s star Sandman still says it’s one of Johnson’s finest stories. His involvement in the horse is thanks to a man named Marshall Sandman who co-founded a venture capital fund called Animal Capital with Johnson and several other influencers. Sandman was friends with Ali Finley, the daughter-in-law of Terry Finley, the president and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds.
On sale in March of the year 2 at Ocara Breeders training in 2024, West Point is DJ Stable, St. EliasStable, partnering with CJ Stables, purchased Tapit’s grey or Roan’s son for $1.2 million. They named Colt Sandman after Metallica’s song “Enter Sandman,” and forced Alifinley to think about their connection to Marshall Sandman and the influencer. Soon Johnson connected with ABR.
“They expected him to be a special horse. They wanted him to be sold and do something special for the sport,” Johnson recalls. “Sports, I saw it offering a lot of stuff. There are so many good things about it that people don’t always see, and that made me so passionate about showing it.”
Johnson’s only racetrack experience at that point was a trip to Horseshoe Indianapolis when he was a young man. Coming from the Midwest, I made racing into the industry just three hours from Churchill Downs.
“The first thing that intrigued me was part of the Kentucky Derby, a part of what I always heard,” Johnson said. “The other side was that the West Point Crew, the Able Crew and everyone were so excited and passionate about helping me get off to the start.
“To open your arms to successful people and ask for help and guide them, that’s what really got me. I’m surrounded by good people.”
It was an early introduction to what Johnson would become the most loving thing about the industry when he began his journey with Sandman in the summer of 2024.
“I feel like I spent my time trying to be the best person I can for everyone around me, taking the time to talk to everyone I can and helping out everything I can,” Johnson said. “I feel that life doesn’t necessarily reward the actions. Many good people who do so many good things don’t necessarily shine.
“Horse racing is an industry for people with the passion and commitment to being actually recognized. Everybody here has so much heart and driving for what they’re doing. It’s the only industry in my life where being a good person really pays off. That’s what’s special for me.”
Of course, the majority of the decision to get involved came from Sandman himself.
“When you met him, he had something about him, so I just attracted me, and I thought, why not take the chance?” Johnson said. “I saw an industry with a lot of passion and a bit of help on the marketing side, and I thought we could go for a good run.”
Staying in the race for a long time
The assumption that Johnson is in the game purely for opinions would be purely uneducated. Some people may expect to smile while the influencer is filming a quick video, then turn off the camera and head home without thinking again. Instead, it is the complete opposite.
Johnson has fully embraced the industry as his own. After watching busy morning workouts and greeting lots of new people, Johnson is still found hanging around the barn late in the afternoon. Currently living in Florida, he travels to Gulfstream Park to enjoy the race without creating any content. In fact, he misses his best friend’s wedding on Saturday.
“Sorry, Mad, I still love you,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t here (at Pimlico). They’re both once in a lifetime, but I really want to be in the horse racing industry for a long time.
“A lot of people have given me struggles with ownership and not putting your dues in. I have not done so, so I can’t argue that.
He may not have worn his membership fees before he acquired the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Runner as his first horse, but he is paying his membership fees for the future of the industry. He plans to continue working with West Point and own more horses.
“We’ll see if we can leave our records as they are,” Johnson joked. “I’ll probably be following this for a really long time.”
He also looks forward to continuing to learn equestrianism from Mark Cass, a Sandman trainer who is inducted into both the US and Canadian Hall of Fame.
“The biggest thing about Mark, what he taught me is that it made my journey even more special. He really cares about the horses,” Johnson said. “He’s a heart-speaking guy and he always has a good point, it’s always going to move the industry forward or think about horses.
“I can start working on my training practices, get into a place where I can really be in the mix and start doing it all with my horse.
Unfortunately for Johnson, Sandman’s racing career will not last forever. Fortunately, in the race, it won’t be the end of Johnson’s involvement. He is particularly passionate about thoroughbred aftercare and plans to continue covering the behind-the-scenes of horse racing.
“I’m really passionate about it and it shows how I can retrain these horses and give them a completely different life,” Johnson said. “People know about these programs because they shed light on it.”
Whether Sandman wins or loses Preakness, Johnson may continue to receive the same walk-up praise as the conversation he welcomes, so that he can continue to meet everyone who has been exposed to the sport.
“By putting extra distance and doing extra work, I felt like I was being appreciated for a lifetime,” Johnson said. “This is the first time I’ve felt that. It’s a praise for everyone in the sports industry, it’s a praise for horses, and I think it’s a perfect proof for those who want to get into it.
“If you’re around good people and you want to do good things and pursue your dreams, this is the spot. We’re all dreamers and we’re all trying to accomplish something.”
