Capelli: Longines' Passion for Racing 'a Natural'

BloodHorse European correspondent Julian Muscat sat down for a few minutes with Juan-Carlos Capelli, vice president and head of international marketing for Longines, following the Jan. 24 Longines World's Best Racehorse and World's Best Horserace ceremony in London.

BH: You have committed a lot of resources to sponsoring equestrian events. How is the Thoroughbred discipline working for Longines?

JC: Longines is based in a small village in Switzerland in Saint-Imier, which is known for two things: making watches and breeding horses. I can see horses from my office window every day, and our first timing activity in racing came in 1881 when Longines timepieces were used to time races in New York. We still have that watch; it is in our museum.

This passion for horse racing is something very natural because we share the same values: elegance, competition, and performance. Horse racing is also a sport for men and women. We make watches for men and women, so we see it as the perfect match.

BH: After you've entered into a sponsorship opportunity, how do you know what has worked and what hasn't?

JC: That is always difficult to quantify, but people can see that we are getting more involved with horse racing. And we have found that when we want to take people to the races, they always want to come. For the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), people are calling us, pushing us, asking to come along. 

It's the same for Royal Ascot. It is very easy for us to invite people to these events: bloggers, journalists, guests. So for us, it is the perfect association.

BH: Would you like to expand the Longines Awards to embrace other categories?

JC: At the moment we give awards for the best horse of the year, the best race of the year, and the best jockey of the year, and we also give an award for special merit. We are happy with that for the moment, but that is food for thought.

BH: For example, separate awards for the best turf and dirt horse. And also for horses which race with and without medication, because that is a reality.

JC: It's not for us to define what the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (which compiles the ratings that determine award winners) should do, but in the future it may become more and more difficult to get European race horses to race in America.