MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — For the Miami Grand Prix, someone is in charge of all the strategic planning and the budget. Someone else oversees the construction of 163 temporary buildings needed for a Formula 1 race weekend. Someone else designs the seating areas and keeps track of food and beverage needs. Someone else makes sure the rich and famous have everything they need and want, from the right drink to the right kind of throw pillow.
These jobs make the race happen.
And in Miami, they're all done by women.
It's something the Miami Grand Prix believes sets its race apart. In a sport and a circuit still dominated by males — there hasn't been a woman behind the wheel for a Formula 1 race since 1992 — it will be difficult this weekend to find an element of the event that isn't overseen by a woman.
"I'm so proud," said Katharina Nowak, the Miami race's vice president of business operations. "The amount of talent, whether male or female, that we have in that room, it just makes you want to be better. Every day, we push ourselves to just continue to maintain the standard at which we all expect to be working at, which just pushes everybody to be better for each other because no one wants to let anyone down."
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From left, Katharina Nowak, Sydney McClain, Natalie Clark and Melanie Cabassol pose Tuesday at Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Fla.
The women leading the way
There are men on the masthead for the race's local overseers: Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross owns the race, Tom Garfinkel is the managing partner and Tyler Epp is president of the race that takes place at the Dolphins' Hard Rock Stadium campus. From there, many other top Miami roles are held by women, including:
— Nowak — only 28 years old — reports to Epp as the race's second-in-command and oversees all strategic plans, the budget and 17 internal departments. She also speaks four languages.
— Natalie Clark is the senior director of event operations, overseeing the process of building, loading in and loading out, which means she tracks what every truck is bringing onto the campus and where it goes.
— Sydney McClain is the senior director of events and food and beverage, meaning she creates virtually the entire fan experience on the 250-acre campus.
— Melanie Cabassol is vice president of hospitality and curated experiences, meaning she creates the atmosphere for premium clients — a list that in past years included the likes of LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
"I've worked at other places before, and it hasn't been that I'm sitting around a conference table and a majority of women are driving different initiatives within this business," McClain said. "So, it is very unique. It's very exciting. And I think that we owe a lot of that to the female leaders that have been here, been in our shoes before, and that have helped pave the way for us."

Drivers get ready July 29 for the start of the sprint shootout ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium.
The race's impact on Miami
The race, now in its fourth year, is part of a diverse series of events at the Hard Rock campus. It's primarily the home of the Dolphins, who have their training facility adjacent to the stadium. It also hosts Miami Hurricanes football, concerts, soccer — the Club World Cup later this year and the FIFA World Cup next year will hold some matches there — and the Miami Open tennis tournament. The F1 race alone generated more than $1 billion in economic impact in its first three years.
The women leading the Miami race aren't alone in their fields. At F1, the chief commercial officer is Emily Prazer and, until late last year, Sacha Woodward Hill had been there for nearly 30 years as the chief legal officer.
But Miami stands out, said Susie Wolff, the managing director of F1 Academy — an all-female developmental racing series.
“I think it’s something which we can all take quite an amount of pride in, that the sport has shifted in such a way that it’s now the case that it is not regarded as something unusual,†Wolff said. "I don’t see it as unusual. I think is a testament to the progress we’ve made.â€
Can Oscar Piastri make it three wins in a row or will team-mate Lando Norris enjoy more Miami success?
How it happens in Miami
This week in Miami takes the other 51 weeks on the calendar to prepare for. Eight months of planning, three months of executing the plan and then one month of it all actually happening.
Part of Clark's job, along with overseeing 245 tent structures and 110 generators and 35 miles of plumbing infrastructure — all of it temporary and hidden — also is to work with architects and construction companies who execute what she draws up for a plan.
“I think when I was younger in my career, I got a little bit of, ‘Who is she? Why is she in the meeting? Why does she have these construction plans?’" Clark said. “And what happens over time is they hear you speak, your confidence, and once people understand that you are a master at your craft, there’s less questions being asked.â€
Cabassol leaves nothing to chance in her job. She's in charge of the most luxurious spaces on the campus, the Palm Club, the Casa Tua Trackside Club and the 72 Club. The original blueprints for those spaces were her vision. Every glass, every bottle of Champagne, every element of those spaces gets her approval.
They call her group a "white glove team,†VIP service for VIP guests. She even manages a secret road of sorts on the campus — Palm Alley, they call it, a palm tree-lined path that drops off some of the world's richest people 10 feet from the entrance. Inside the club, there are the strictest of rules: no entourages, no private security, the VIP and one guest only. No cameras, no media.
Cabassol and her group know the likes and dislikes, what kind of food, what kind of drink, every guest will want ahead of time by dealing with the VIPs' own teams. If there is a Palm Club guest who doesn't like another Palm Club guest, they even have a plan to keep those people away from each other. Everybody must enjoy themselves, no matter what.
She makes it work. So do Nowak, Clark, McClain and many others.
“What has happened here is they've brought the right people together to create, the right team to execute the vision," Cabassol said. "I guess I would say I’m proud to represent women in this space, but I’m even more proud to be a part of the team that recognizes and elevates talent that collaboratively work together in this environment.â€
5 celebrities who you may not know are serious sports bettors
5 celebrities who you may not know are serious sports bettors

5 celebrities who you may not know are serious sports bettors

Since the Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 in 2018, sports gambling in the United States has become an , per 2023 revenue figures from the American Gaming Association. With its increasing popularity, sports betting is not only a topic on many U.S. ballots but also on many Americans' minds, including celebrities.
Sports betting's explosive growth is only expected to continue seeing as a dozen states are still working toward legality or holding out. Once the market is mature, projections put the business' value at $45 billion.
Until that landmark decision by the Supreme Court six years ago, wagers on games and players were relegated to Nevada. For a long time, the only publicly acceptable discussions of sports gambling were built around sly references to point spreads by handicappers like Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, perhaps the first celebrity sports prognosticator. In 1976, he was hired by CBS to offer final score predictions on "The NFL Today."
A decade later, Michael Jordan began his ascent to the NBA throne—and as the unofficial godfather of celebrity gambling. At the height of his career in 1993, he was seen in an Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino the night before a playoff game in New York. That same year, he on the links and in card games and reportedly negotiated a $1.25 million golf bet debt down to a $300,000 settlement. Rumors swirled even after Jordan told "60 Minutes" in 2005 that, though he'd "pushed the envelope," gambling had not jeopardized his family or livelihood.
Jordan's fame may have allowed him to get away with what others couldn't, though the MLB's Pete Rose was not as lucky. Jordan's escapades were considered friendly wagers. He famously palled around with Charles Barkley, betting thousands per hole in golf games. They loved to compete for money on the course just as they had for supremacy on the court.
Now that sports gambling is above board, however, big names don't have to obfuscate, leading some to flaunt their betting slips on social media. To see what the rich and famous are betting on, compiled a list of celebrities who are serious sports bettors.
Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher, the actor-turned-venture capitalist perhaps best known for his role as Michael Kelso on "That '70s Show," had at least one turn as a professional sports bettor. In 2013, he told Esquire he was "." Kutcher detailed sharps and squares, statistical anomalies, and opportunities to make money betting on college football. He was a plant, hoping to catch bookmakers unaware that pros were behind the wagers. It lasted only a month, but the operation netted $750,000.
Drake

Rapper and musician Drake has won five Grammy Awards, but in certain circles, he is more revered for his sports betting—perhaps because he shares bets on Instagram and other platforms. He is far from an expert but as prolific as they come, routinely betting huge sums on combat sports, Formula 1, and other contests. He has won and lost tens of millions of dollars at the roulette wheel, too, though his sports gambling reputation has coined the term "," due to his tendency to jinx athletes and teams. However, in February 2024, he placed a on Kansas City to win the Super Bowl.
Matt Lucas

Actor-comedian Matt Lucas rose to fame on the early 2000s British sketch comedy series "Little Britain" but gained popularity in the U.S. after appearing in the 2011 hit comedy "Bridesmaids" and more recently in the 2023 "Wonka" movie.
He's a huge supporter of the Premier League team Arsenal—no surprise for someone from London. He shared a long-shot parlay he made on a Gunners match in 2022, , "Occasionally I place small bets on unlikely events with long odds."
Not only did he accurately predict the first goal scorer, Eddie Nketiah, but he also bet that Leeds United's Luke Ayling would be sent off via a red card. The first goal came just five minutes in after a goalkeeper blunder, and the astronomical odds of 175-1 were assured only 22 minutes later after a video assistant referee review upgraded a yellow card to a red one, returning Lucas £352 on a £2 flier (about $440 on a $2.50 bet).
Phil Mickelson

As of May 2024, golfer Phil Mickelson has made on the PGA Tour and about $800 million in sponsorship deals, appearance fees, and golf course design fees. This is impressive, considering he reportedly gambled away more than $1 billion. In thousands of wagers, including 858 bets of $220,000 apiece and others as high as $400,000, Mickelson , according to the 2023 book "Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk" by preeminent sports bettor Billy Walters. The astounding figures sparked quite the controversy, and in 2023, Mickelson revealed he'd .
Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Another celebrity known for posting his betting slips—and wads of cash—on social media, boxing champ Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. completed his 50-0 career in 2017. He also took the idea of betting on oneself quite literally that year when he tried to place bets on his fight against UFC star Conor McGregor at a Las Vegas casino. The wagers weren't accepted because of concerns about their legality, but he would have won both bets he attempted.
Like Mickelson, Mayweather was also an associate of Walters. He made $1 billion during his career and was known to bet huge amounts, with limits up to $500,000 at two casinos, according to Walters. He also may have made the : $10 million on the Denver Broncos to win the Super Bowl in 2014. They lost 43-8.
Story editing by Jaimie Etkin. Copy editing by Paris Close.
This story originally appeared on ATS.io and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.