California Chrome is almost certainly the most famous nasal strip wearer in America at this moment. The horse has won a nasal strip throughout his Triple Crown run and will do so again in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. For that reason it’s not surprising that companies in the business of making nasal strips are trying to leverage his popularity to their own advantage and provides another testimony to the unique marketability of California Chrome.
California Chrome wears a Flair brand equine nasal strip when he races. Immediately after the Preakness Stakes there was initially some question about whether he’d be allowed to wear the nasal strip in the Belmont Stakes before New York racing authorities approved it’s use. Their decision was good not only for the Triple Crown hopeful but for other companies looking to market their own nasal strips. The makers of Breathe Right nasal strips will hand out more than 50,000 samples to racing fans at Belmont this Saturday. Nasal strip maker GlaxoSmithKline has taken a more substantial role than that as they’ve dropped $1.5 million to become a co-sponsor of the race.
The nasal strip has also become something of an Internet meme with fans taking pictures of themselves wearing their own nasal strips in ‘good luck’ solidarity with California Chrome. Breathe Right hopes that this trend will continue on race day with fans sharing pictures of themselves wearing nasal strips live at Belmont Park.
California Chrome’s jockey, Victor Espinoza, has had his own sponsorship deal throughout the Triple Crown. He’s sponsored by Common Ground Alliance, a national organization dedicated to protecting underground gas and utility lines. The organizations ‘Call Before You Dig’ hotline ‘Call 811’ is visible on Espinoza’s riding gear. CGA is not trying to leverage all of the media attention surrounding California Chrome and actually signed their deal with Espinoza before the Kentucky Derby.
The Belmont Stakes is the third and final leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. California Chrome has the opportunity to make history by becoming only the 12th Triple Crown winner in the history of horse racing–and the first since Affirmed did it in 1978–with a win in the Belmont Stakes this Saturday.