From early memories of visiting the local racetrack and Melbourne Cup house parties, it was hard for Sydney local Nathan Skrivanic to think about working in any other industry.
The Creative Manager of Kick Collective opens a window into the marketing side of racing, and how welfare is firmly on the mind of our industry’s frontrunners.
“When I was about five, my dad took me out to Rosehill to watch Sunline race,” Skrivanic said. “I think I was more interested in the pony rides out the back at the time.”
Watching the mighty daughter of Desert Sun (GB) rule the track at Rosehill Gardens, where she claimed two G1 Coolmore Classics among her 13 top-flight victories, would loom large in Skrivanic’s brain as a young child. He also vividly remembers Makybe Diva (GB) (Desert King {Ire}) claiming her third G1 Melbourne Cup when he was nine years old.
Black type connections
While his family wasn’t particularly horsey, there was always a racing connection; Skrivanic’s father owned a share in Laurel Oak Bloodstock-bred Georgian Gold (Blue And Gold), who won five races in the late eighties before retiring to stud. Three of her offspring were winners on the track, but it is through her unraced daughter Cottonfields (Kala Dancer {GB}) that Georgian Gold is best connected, appearing as third dam in the pedigree of Group 1-producing sire Rebel Dane.
“Then he (dad) stopped, and Louis (Mihalyka) always jokes, ‘He stopped buying shares because you guys came along so he couldn’t afford it!’,” recalled Skrivanic. Frequent visits to local Rosehill and annual Melbourne Cup house parties fed Skrivanic’s growing taste for racing.
“I’ve been a racing fan since then,” he said. “I came home early from school every year to watch it (the Melbourne Cup).”
Studying the form
Punting and racing form would become an integral part of Skrivanic’s life as he got older, and he started to offer tips to his friends.
“I was right into it,” said Skrivanic, who headed to Macquarie University after high school to study a Bachelor of Marketing and Media. “I started going (to the races) more when I turned 18 and half my time was spent doing the form in my lectures.
“I used to be really good at it! I backed Barade on Derby Day, and when I tipped him, he was paying $65 on the Thursday. Then it won at $20, but we got on it at $65!”
One of his greatest successes that stands out to Skrivanic is backing Arcadia Queen (Pierro) in her G1 Caulfield S. showdown with classy import Russian Camelot (Ire).
“She was up against Russian Camelot when he was all the rage, and he was paying $1.40,” said Skrivanic. “And I remember being so confident in her, and she got up and won – that was pretty awesome. She was a superstar.”
The following year, ahead of the 2021 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, Skrivanic met his racing idol in person.
“I ended up going to see her and filming her for the mares’ sale,” Skrivanic said. “It was cool to go meet her after that; she was one of my favourite horses.”
A Kick in the right direction
That opportunity would come as part of working for Kick Collective, a leading thoroughbred industry marketing agency set up in 2018 by Vicky Leonard. Kick Collective had come across Skrivanic’s radar during his studies, as he looked to marry his passion for racing with skills developed during his degree.
“I had seen Kick, and I really wanted to work there, I really liked what they did,” he said. At the time, Skrivanic’s father worked with the mother of Garry Cuddy, then general manager for Spendthrift Australia, and Cuddy was very encouraging. “He (Cuddy) said that Kick would be great to work for.”
Skrivanic ultimately applied for a marketing role with the Darley operation first, but it wouldn’t be long before Kick Collective came knocking.
“I made it to the final two,” said Skrivanic, who designed a stallion advertisement as part of his application. “I was actually playing golf at the time and got a call from Darley saying, ‘You didn’t get the job, do you mind if we pass you on to Vicky (Leonard)?’ Then a couple of holes later, Vicky called and offered me a job.
“It was an up and down couple of holes!”
Skrivanic accepted the role and hasn’t looked back since. In three and a half years with Kick Collective, he has stepped up into the role of Creative Manager, leading the creative team through all aspects of social media coverage for clients, from conception to pressing post, as well as working solo on sales products. In recent years, he has produced short documentaries for the Magic Millions sales series and has just returned from filming Keeneland-bound sales yearlings for long-term stateside client Stone Farm.
International reach
Thoroughbred welfare remains dear to Skrivanic’s heart, also a board member of companion project Kick Up For Racing, which seeks to counter misinformation about the thoroughbred industry.
“There’s always two arms with Kick Up and Light Up Racing,” Skrivanic referenced the United States-based welfare initiative born from Kick Collective. “Internally, how you can better improve welfare issues, and externally, getting outside the bubble and showing people what changes are being made.”
“It’s never going to be perfect, so you’re better off saying something than nothing. I think the general public appreciates, if you’re trying to change, showing that progress and that willingness to change.”
Kick Collective has recently installed two members in the thoroughbred heartland of Kentucky to develop Light Up Racing further. The initiative was launched in November of last year, offering webinars, cohort training, and easy access to a broad body of research.
“It’s great to have people based in Kentucky that can speak the language,” Skrivanic said. “They’ve been doing a great job, the challenge over there is that they’re so far apart.
“The people over there are fantastic to work with. They have a lot of energy, which is refreshing. Kentucky seems to have this energy about it where they love their horses, it’s a massive industry.”
He added, “America has the best researchers on horse welfare in the world, and a lot of that research is out there, they just need a way to communicate to the public and people in the industry as well. The industry has made massive strides in the welfare space – there’s a lot of pressure on people to improve horse welfare, and it’s good to see them changing things.”
A welfare focus
“I think the more communication you get out there, the more things will change. There are positive signs everywhere.”
The next big project that Skrivanic has in mind for Kick Up is a focus on the other side of the industry.
“We’re trying to get some funding together to tell the story of the broodmare breeding process,” said Skrivanic, who, like many in the industry, was deeply affected by public attitudes following the passing of Black Caviar (Bel Esprit).
“There’s a massive lack of education. It’s so obvious that people outside of the breeding industry do not understand what goes on.
“We just have to show people the care and processes people go through. People would be shocked to see some of the state-of-the-art vet hospitals that we have. They’re giving horses the best chance to survive.”
Also on Skrivanic’s mind is thoroughbred traceability, praising overseas efforts. Earlier this year, Great Britain’s Horse Welfare Board released their first thoroughbred census, detailing the whereabouts of 8256 retired racehorses, two thirds of which were previously completely unrecorded. Combined with 13,000 thoroughbreds registered for the Retraining Of Racehorses initiative, HWB believes they can now account for approximately 80 per cent of the retired thoroughbred population.
“If we could agree to come together on a program like this, it would be amazing,” Skrivanic said. “It would change the public image.”
Moving the needle
“Any company or farm that wants to be innovative and move the industry forward, that’s who we want to work with,” Skrivanic said, citing Steve Grant’s Silverdale Farm as a client that fits the bill perfectly, with the development of their Silverdale Academy.
“We like industry game changers who are moving the needle in the public space – it’s not just a return on investment for them, it’s about how they can help the industry.”
He has less time to study form these days, but as the country looks towards this year’s Melbourne Cup carnival, Skrivanic has his pre-nominations money on Buckaroo (GB) (Fastnet Rock). The 6-year-old last start winner of the G1 Underwood S. is $41 with TAB for the Cup at the time of writing.
“I really liked his win last start and last prep he was so unlucky, I think I backed him every start,” he said. “He’s come into his own now.”
Every day in the office is different, with the Southern Hemisphere breeding season well under way, yearling sales just over the horizon, and American mare sales taking Skrivanic back north soon.
“You learn quick and it’s great, I hate doing the same thing every day, which might send me insane in a racing stable,” Skrivanic added. “So, it’s nice having a change up!”
This article was written by Kit Gow for TTRAusNZ.
