Two-Minute Lick - Jake Ballis
Jake Ballis is the manager of Rashard Lewis of the Miami Heat as well as a commercial real-estate investor. He also operates a racing partnership which includes Lewis; they own horses such as Cigar Street as well as White Rose. For Ballis, horse racing is a family affair. His father, John, owned Groovy, the 1987 Eclipse Award-winning sprinter.
Name: Jake Ballis
What I do for a living: Commercial real-estate investor and I manage Thoroughbred partnerships
How and when I was introduced to Thoroughbred racing: Through my father in the 80s
My favorite racetrack: Saratoga
My favorite Thoroughbred racing event: Breeders’ Cup
Other sports/teams I follow: LSU, Miami Heat, Houston Texans
What I would like to see more of in Thoroughbred racing: High-Definition TV
First Thoroughbred track I ever attended was: Saratoga
Favorite all-time Thoroughbred: Groovy
My personal best moment in the sport of Thoroughbred Racing: Walking the track before the Derby in 2009
Best racetrack food can be found at: Gulfstream
My favorite jockey: Johnny V (AKA John Velazquez)
My favorite trainer: Bill Mott
My Heroes: Hakeem Olajuwon
Person in Thoroughbred racing I’d like to have dinner with: I have already accomplished this: Angel Cordero.
My philosophy on life: Enjoy it. It is short.
Favorite quote or motto: If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.
Favorite animal other than a horse: Dog
Favorite non-Thoroughbred racing sports event I have attended: NBA Finals
Favorite food: My mother’s meatloaf
Favorite vacation spot: Acapulco
Favorite city: San Diego
Favorite Musician/band: George Strait
Favorite all-time movie(s): Shawshank Redemption
Favorite TV Show: “Homeland”
Favorite hotel: Setai in Miami
Websites I visit daily: DRF, ESPN, Fox News
What I drive: Escalade
Pet Peeve: People that are not on time
Favorite movie about horse racing: Secretariat
Which actor would play me in a movie: Denzel Washington
Alma Mater: University of Houston
Favorite Radio shows/channels: Mike and Mike
Best Book I recently read: “Outliers”
Favorite Dessert: Cheesecake
Favorite Drink: Bourbon on the rocks
What I like about my job: I get to travel a lot.
Favorite Tech gadget: iPhone
Twitter Handle: @jakeballis
People I follow on Twitter: A lot of horse racing “experts”
No. 1 Bucket List Item: Travel to New Zealand
