Flying Mohawk co-owner Jayson Werth answered questions from anyone after the Kentucky Derby draw Saturday April 26, 2025 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jayson Werth’s Icon Racing makes debut at Saratoga with Sacred Goddess

Originally posted on Horse Racing on SI | By Mary Rufo | Last updated Jul 17, 2025 7:45 AM ET

After celebrating Grade 1 victories in the Belmont Stakes and Haskell with Dornoch last year, retired Major League Baseball player Jayson Werth was inspired to build something bigger. On Thursday, his ownership venture, Icon Racing, sends out its first starter.

Sacred Goddess, a two-year-old New York bred filly will contest a five-and-one-half furlong maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course. The daughter of Kantharos was a $200,000 purchase at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales (OBS) this past April. She is trained by Jeremiah Englehart and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. in Thursday’s sixth race.

Icon Racing owns Sacred Goddess in partnership with Shirl Penny’s Team Penny Racing and Peter Dorsman Racing, LLC.

Icon Racing was created with the mission of gathering new participants into racing. Many of whom Werth gathered are entirely new to the Sport of Kings. When Ortiz Jr. walks into the paddock to ride Sacred Goddess, he will be sporting silks designed by the new owners that are bound to be “iconic” soon enough. The Icon Racing silks feature a sleek black base adorned with a striking silver lightning bolt with silver stripes on the sleeves.

Besides Sacred Goddess, Icon Racing has another eight horses in training. All of their horses in training are two-year-olds with several purchased at the 2024 Keeneland Yearling Sales. The ownership group purchased six yearlings for a grand total of $1.41m.

Another highly regarded two-year-old for the stable is a colt by Maclean’s Music named Hero Declared. Icon Racing purchased Hero Declared at OBS March for a whopping $575,000. Trained by D. Whitworth Beckman, the colt has published six workouts, including his most recent four furlong drill at Saratoga Race Course. He’s expected to show up in the entries soon.