Turning 40 does things to people. When Josh Isner reached the milestone, he took a look at the road ahead and asked himself a question.“Do I just want to get worse at golf every year for the rest of my life? Or do I want to try to go win the Kentucky Derby?”This was only last year, but this is a guy whose words can barely keep up with his deeds. Which is saying plenty, because his every syllable is suffused with energy and drive.Isner had played golf in college, and remained an accomplished amateur since.“But when I put it like that, it was a pretty simple decision,” he recalls. “And my friend Dave Portnoy had me pegged very early. He was nice enough to take me to Saratoga, for the Whitney and the sale. But just about the first thing he said was, 'You're going to see this-and you're going to be addicted immediately.'”Isner did his homework. While he had always tuned into the Triple Crown, racing had never been a factor in his upbringing-he was raised near Suffolk Downs, so that was sadly an opportunity gone-and in the weeks leading up to their Spa jaunt he tried to master some of the basics. Certainly he knew enough, when getting there, to realize that Portnoy was introducing him to some of the game's biggest names.“And I remember walking away and thinking: 'Is that normal?'” he says. “I mean, you don't just go up to the best head coaches in the NFL and have a beer with them. But that's what I had been doing at the sales, meeting guys like Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher, Brad Cox, Mike Repole, John Stewart. The best trainers in the world, the most successful owners, they're all here and very accessible, pointing things out and helping you get up to speed.”Isner humorously confesses himself to have been too maddeningly inquisitive for Portnoy to endure him as a partner, but fateful seeds had been sown.“I think the number one thing I started with was that any individual, if they put in the time and have the means, can be very competitive in a short amount of time,” he reasons. “You need luck, no doubt, to reach the pinnacle. But if you start to understand the different variables, and you're willing to invest, there's no reason you can't be running in some of the biggest races every year. And that's very, very different than almost every other sport in the United States.”That's an uncommon insight, and quite true: while elite participation on the racetrack typically requires investment at a financially prohibitive tier of the market, in relative terms it is actually unusually accessible. But while not everyone can deploy the same resources as the President of Axon, a global brand in public safety technology, Isner also adores the fact that our sport gives everyone a chance. No matter how much time and money he throws at it, he knows there are zero guarantees.“The lack of control you have in this game is so beautiful,” he says. “It's like you can do everything you want, to position yourself well, but it comes down to an 1,100-pound animal that you have no control over. At times that is just heartbreaking, but at other times it's unbelievably exciting.”Then there are the familiar draws of the Turf's pageantry and social ambience.“Saratoga was one of the most majestic places I've ever seen, the tradition just baked into it,” Isner says. “And then of course you just meet so many interesting people that you wouldn't meet in other walks of life. So altogether it's quite a combination.”From a standing start, Isner has already assembled around 20 horses under Delta Squad Racing banner. Here, plainly, is someone with a capacity for engagement equal to the notoriously arcane language and behaviors of the bloodstock world. Besides a high-powered, high-pressure business life, he goes home to a wife and three daughters. So he's already a busy guy, but horses are filling any and all gaps.“Any moment that I'm not with the family or working, it's horseracing time,” Isner says with enthusiasm. “I try to consume an hour or two of content every day, usually before going to bed: podcasts, YouTube videos, learning about pedigrees or conformation. I do weekly one-on-ones with Barry Weisbord, who's teaching me about families and pedigrees.“I've got a lot to learn, but I'm doing my best to catch up. Look, you can't fake it. It's a relatively high barrier to entry. I was talking about foals 'out of' Gun Runner and being yelled at, I had to say 'by' Gun Runner. But you just learn along the way to embarrass yourself less and less.”It would have been easy just to roll all this enthusiasm into handicapping, and Isner actually contested the NHC this year. But he has chosen full immersion, as being both far more demanding and far more rewarding.Josh Isner | Courtesy Josh Isner“Same as any business, it's like, 'Hey, if you're going to spend millions of dollars doing something, you better spend the time trying to figure out what your strategy is, and what the different major variables are,'” he says. “And I've tried to do that, and get up to speed really fast. I just want to be learning every single day here.”Equally, anybody investing those millions is entitled to alert lifelong insiders against the kind of drift and complacency that perhaps only a newcomer might perceive. Last month Isner stimulated much interest with an exuberant letter to TDN, urging The Jockey Club to embrace its detractors because “teams of rivals win.” In his letter, he spoke of the innovator's dilemma: the phenomenon where businesses, as they grow, become “bureaucratic, risk-averse, and profit-focused.”That is something Isner had experienced first-hand, in his own career. Two weeks out of college, he drove to Arizona to join a company then named Taser, turning out nothing bar the eponymous electroshock weapon. But one thing led to another: from a camera on the taser, to a camera on the officer, to cutting-edge work in drones and AI. In serving both law enforcement and civil liberties, today Axon stores around 50 times more data than Netflix. But the dilemma remained: how to maintain the disruptor energy that animates so much development?“When you're having success, that's exactly when the alert bell should be ringing,” Isner explains. “Other people are going to start coming after you, and you need to keep out-innovating yourself before somebody else does. So that's been a principle we've lived by. Already three or four years ago we were investing heavily in AI products and because of that we're now the market leader in AI in public safety. No matter how far ahead you are, you have to keep pushing forward or else you're going backwards relative to everybody else. And so I do think there are parallels in horseracing.”It has quickly become apparent to Isner that while nearly everyone in the industry seems to recognize its problems, few take ownership of potential solutions.“It's like everyone kind of sits around the table and grumbles,” he says. “But hey, there's a lot of smart people in the sport, people who've been successful in other businesses. Let's just start moving the ball down the field here, and fixing some of the obvious things. Everybody has been very, very welcoming, at the sales and at the races. But with the lack of structure and clear decision-making authority, I can see why it's challenging to make progress.”Isner offers these observations in all humility, emphasizing that he doesn't pretend to have all the answers.“But I would say that across the board-whether in business, or sports, just anything that requires teamwork-you have to know what problems you're setting out to solve, and which should have priority,” he reasons. “To me, as a new owner, the biggest issue is the foal crop. Let's focus on that, and figure out how to reverse this trend of supply so limited that people are getting squeezed out of the game.”That said, he would have no problem if the industry happened to prioritize other concerns: maybe CAWs, or inconsistent veterinary practice at different tracks. In every case, the principles are the same-and, really, pretty simple.“You just got to figure out what you want to solve first, and then sprint at it with a team that is empowered to act,” Isner argues. “Look at the NFL. The team owners are rabidly competitive with each other. But at the end of the day, when it comes down to business issues and the sustainability of the league, even those that might not like each other will lock arms like the fiercest allies. In horseracing you don't necessarily see that. And until that changes, while it's still going to be a great sport and a lot of fun, the metrics won't be going the right direction.”Much could be gained, clearly, if those born into the game-perhaps by now a little jaded or cynical-could top up with some of this convert's zeal. Isner himself, after all, is also looking to the longer term: however eager for immediate action, he is working with Liz Crow and Brad Weisbord to develop a sustainable program.“The plan is evolving as I learn,” he admits. “But my goal is at least to be in the gate, once in my life, in those classic American dirt races: the Triple Crown, the Breeders' Cup.“I know I'm a very lucky individual, but there's no way I can show up at sales and compete with Mike Repole and Sheikh Mohammad and Amr Zedan and Coolmore. So I try to find yearlings that are A+ physicals with two-turn dirt pedigrees, but maybe more Book 2 and 3 pages. Then supplement those with some 2-year-olds: we bought a really nice Curlin at OBS in April, and took a shot at a Mo Donegal as well. And then finally to buy some nice fillies or mares every year.”To that end Isner partnered with Michael Dubb to buy GII Black-Eyed Susan Stakes winner Margie's Intention (Honor A.P.) for $1.3 million at Fasig-Tipton last November. She has just added fresh black type in the Allaire DuPont Distaff Stakes, but the eventual agenda is for her foals to help fund the rest of the program.“I'm not sure this game will ever offer the highest return on investment, but it is definitely the highest level of fun,” Isner says. “I'm a very competitive guy, very hands-on, and tend to jump into things head first. Part of the reason I love this is because you can kind of run your own franchise. It very quickly became clear that I was going to fall in love with this. And, yeah, I'm pretty obsessed. At this point it's something I think I'll be doing the rest of my life.” The post Making New Owners, presented by Ownerview: “It’s Something I Think I’ll be Doing the Rest of My Life” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.