Roy Jackson doesn’t mind if you don’t know about his background in baseball. He understands. After all, millions of people throughout the world know he and his wife, Gretchen Jackson, as the owners of Barbaro, the famous 2006 Kentucky Derby winner who stole the hearts of horse racing fans everywhere when he fractured a leg at the Preakness Stakes and was later euthanized.
But over 40 years ago, Jackson began what would be a long and prosperous career in baseball when he joined the Philadelphia Phillies’ organizational training program. With the help of then-Phillies general manager John Quinn, one of the most sought-after executives in the game, Jackson worked with the Phillies’ minor league clubs for nearly two years before the opportunity arose in 1967 to purchase the York White Roses, a Class A affiliate of the Washington Senators.
It turned out baseball was in his veins and he went on to become president of the Eastern League, the International League and the Pacific Coast League. He also owned the Tuscon Toros, a Class AAA Pacific Coast League team which he sold in 1974.
By 1982, it was time to move on and Jackson found a new angle on the sport where he could be challenged – as a founding partner in Convest, a professional sports management firm that represented many major leaguers. Jackson’s first client was ex-Dodger Mickey Hatcher, now a hitting coach for the Anaheim Angels. Jackson later signed Ron Washington, who this season managed the Texas Rangers to their first World Series.
Jackson eventually sold his share of the business, turned his attention to horse racing and picked up clients with different kinds of names – like Lady Like Manner, Mylittlegrassshack and Skip A Beat. Horses and racing were driving him now.
The thrill of sliding into home plate or crossing the finish line first represent two very different experiences – but both provide the same adrenaline rush. “There are parallels between professional ball players and race horses,” said Jackson, who along with his wife Gretchen, was honored by the Chester County Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 for owning Barbaro. “Seeing them both develop is one, but watching them turn into professionals and winners is another.”
It seems Jackson has hit a home run, no matter the sport.
