About Sackatoga Stable, LLC.
Sackatoga Stable LLC was founded by Jack Knowlton and Ed Mitzen in July 2006. Jack has had an integral role, serving as a Managing Partner since 1995 and as the racing manager for more than 50 racehorses, including 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide. Ed oversees the communications arm of the corporation and has significant experience as a racehorse owner.
Barclay Tagg and Robin Smullen represent Sackatoga Stable at horse sales. They are responsible for selecting horses for purchase as well as training all Sackatoga Stable horses. Horses purchased at yearling and two-year-old in training sales are initially sent to Ocala, Florida where they are prepared for their racing careers under the leadership of Caroline and Rob Webster at Webster Training Center.
Our Mission
At Sackatoga Stable we are dedicated to providing both value and enjoyment to our partners in thoroughbred ownership. Our pledge to our investors is that they will not only have an enjoyable thoroughbred racing experience but will also share in our love and appreciation of the sport. To fulfill our mission we create new horse partnerships comprised of individuals investing in horses selected by Sackatoga Stable and provide high quality racing and management services.
As active participants in the thoroughbred racing community, we understand our responsibility to contribute to and support organizations that benefit the sport. Sackatoga Stable is an active financial contributor to organizations serving retired racehorses, backstretch workers and disabled jockeys.
OUR TEAM
JACK KNOWLTON | Operating Manager
Jack Knowlton has been the Operating Manager of Sackatoga Stable since 1995, serving as the racing manager for more than 50 racehorses, including 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide as well a multiple Grade 1 Winner Tiz the Law victorious in The Champagne, Florida Derby Belmont Stakes and Travers. He participates with Trainer Barclay Tagg and Assistant Trainer Robin Smullen in the purchase of Sackatoga Stable horses as well as the selection of races in which they run.
For over a decade Jack has contributed his talents to the thoroughbred racing community at a national as well as New York State level. In 2004-05 he served as a member of the NTRA Jockey Insurance Working Group. He served as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of Racing in New York State from 2005 to 2007 and also served on New York State’s Task Force on Retired Race Horses from 2009 to 2011. He also played a leadership role in assisting the New York State Gaming Commission in organizing Aftercare Summits in Saratoga Springs in 2015 and 2016. Under his leadership, Sackatoga Stable has consistently been a financial supporter of various aftercare organizations including Old Friends at Cabin Creek and Equine Advocates. He is a regular attendee of thoroughbred industry events and has served as a panelist at events such as the Thoroughbred Owners Conference and Equestricon.
Jack and his wife Dorothy have been residents of Saratoga Springs since 1984.
ED MITZEN | Marketing Director
Appropriately referred to as the serial entrepreneur, Ed has built four marketing companies totaling over $200 million in combined revenue.
Ed most recently sold his fourth company, Fingerpaint, a full-service health and wellness marketing agency with offices across the United States. Before forming Fingerpaint, Ed founded Palio Communications, an advertising and communications agency in Saratoga Springs.
Following the sale of Fingerpaint, Ed and his wife Lisa created the Business for Good Foundation whose mission is to build thriving communities by owning, accelerating and assisting businesses in the greater Capital Region.
Ed is the author of “More Than a Number,” a book about the power of empathy and philanthropy in business. He is a frequent lecturer on the topics of advertising and marketing at a number of top colleges and universities, including the University of Rochester and Skidmore College, as well as a speaker at top international conferences. He is also an active member of the local community, holding board positions over the years at various not-for-profit organizations including the Albany Chamber of Commerce, The Hyde Collection, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), Union Graduate College, the Double H Ranch, the Saratoga Care Foundation and the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs.
Ed has three wonderful children: Emily, Nick and Grace. He resides in Saratoga Springs with his wife Lisa.
BARCLAY TAGG | Trainer
Barclay Tagg’s renowned career as a trainer began in 1971. He served as an assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Frank Whitely and is best known as the trainer of Sackatoga Stable’s three-year-old champion Funny Cide, the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner. Most recently, he has led Sackatoga Stable’s Tiz the Law to Grade 1 victories in The Champagne, Florida Derby and Belmont Stakes. Barclay also trained the winner of the 2003 Alabama (Island Fashion) and in 2004 won the Jockey Gold Cup with Funny Cide. Barclay has saddled over 1,500 winners with earnings in excess of $62 million during his training career including prestigious Grade I races such as the Wood Memorial, Cigar Mile (twice), QEII and Secretariat. Other major stakes wins include the Kelso, Suburban Handicap, Jerome Handicap, Lake George, Tampa Bay Derby, Holy Bull, Red Smith, National Museum Hall of Fame, the Futurity and Cornhusker Breeders Cup.
See information about Barclay and his current stable at www.barclaytaggracing.com.
ROBIN SMULLEN | ASSISTANT TRAINER
Robin Smullen has been the Assistant Trainer for the Barclay Tagg Racing Stable since 1998. She grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania that had show horses, basically born on horseback and riding before she could walk. “Horses are all I’ve know from day one”, she says. Robin showed horses on the “A” circuit before becoming a full-time participant in the thoroughbred horse racing industry.
Following graduation from high school, she worked for Dr. John R.S. Fisher for several years which was a great learning experience. He taught her about checking legs and “going over horses” to look for any issues they may have. After that she worked for a few different trainers and eventually became a trainer at Charlestown and Delaware Park. Realizing how difficult it is to operate a small stable, she went back to work for Dr. Fisher. That was when she met Barclay (1996) and began working for him a year later. She and Barclay have been inseparable ever since sharing a passion for horses that is unrivaled in the thoroughbred industry.
Caroline and Rob webster | TRAINING CENTER OPERATORs
Caroline and Rob Webster operate Webster Training Center, a 70-acre Reddick, Florida facility that is one of the country’s premier breaking and training facilities. They have decades of experience in the thoroughbred racing industry as trainers, thoroughbred farm mangers, breeders and breaking young horses. Following the purchase of yearlings, Sackatoga Stable sends them to Webster Training Center where they are prepared for their racing career. Horses needing rehabilitation following an injury or a break from racing for a couple of months are also sent to the Webster facility.
AARON KNOWLTON | Executive DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
Aaron has joined the Sackatoga Stable management team as the organization grows through the addition of horses and partners. He will assist in identifying sponsorship opportunities as well as merchandising and marketing approaches designed to attract new partners.
He has been a lifelong fan of horse racing. Aaron was among the first investors when Sackatoga Stable, LLC was formed in 2006 having participated in every LLC since 2008. He used to quip that the horses were a great tax write-off every year, but that changed with the arrival of Tiz the Law!
Aaron, not surprisingly as Jack’s son, began handicapping at about the same time he learned to count. He also believes passionately in “doing the right thing” by the horses and people who bring thoroughbred owners such joy, and regularly supports organizations such as Old Friends that are focused on providing a good home for retired racehorses.
He currently serves as Managing Principal at EAB, an edtech company that he helped grow from a startup in 2007 to a firm with nearly 2,000 employees and a valuation of ~$3 billion. Aaron returned to EAB in early-2024 after serving for four years as Vice President, Partnerships at ExecOnline, a venture capital-backed edtech company.
Aaron is a proud alumnus of both the South Carolina Honors College at the University of South Carolina (BA, Economics) and the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University (MBA). He currently resides in Potomac, MD with his wife Roula and three delightful teenage daughters: Christine, Julia, and Maria.
RACHEL DUNN | SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR
Rachel Dunn is a marketing and branding professional with keen instincts for impacting bottom-line performance on a local, national and global level. Following her graduation from Penn State, Rachel embarked on a fruitful career in advertising, overseeing sonic branding projects for global brands including Nike, Target, Microsoft and BMW. Relocating to the east coast, she spent three years at Otter Consulting, working directly with the Former Owner/CEO of the Houston Rockets. In her adopted hometown of Saratoga Springs, NY, Rachel has spearheaded various branding initiatives including the creation of a talent attraction branding campaign for ACE/CEG’s Capital Region Branding Initiative, pitching and creating a sonic brand for CDTA and starting the social media project CapGirlsNY. She is excited to bring her passion for horse racing and building brands to Sackatoga Stable, LLC.
Rachel sits on the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation’s Marketing Committee and will be joining the Host Committee for Franklin Community Center. On the horizon is a program to help bring diversity to the Region’s marketing industry.