ARE BREEDERS BEING STONEWALLED?
UPDATE: An official with the Breeders’ Cup confirmed that 385 foals sired by nine Stonewall Farm stallions may be in jeopardy of not being eligible for nomination to the Breeders” Cup because of delinquency in payment of stallion nominations. The official would not name the nine stallions. The original version of this article said between 600-700 foals might be affected by the situation, which remains unresolved. A Breeders’ Cup spokesman said progress is being made: "We are currently receiving payment on the Stonewall stallions and we are hopeful to settle the matter on all the Stonewall stallions by next week." The spokesman would not say whether payment was coming from Stonewall and its various entities or from the banks that filed suit against the farm.
By Ray Paulick
The Paulick Report has learned that a total of 385 foals of 2010 sired by nine stallions that stood at Stonewall Farm in 2009 are currently in jeopardy of not being eligible for nomination to the Breeders’ Cup because nomination payments for the stallions are delinquent. Stonewall Farm and several other entities controlled by Richard and Audrey Haisfield recently declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is moving much of its primary operation based in Kentucky to Florida.
Stallion nominations for the 2009 breeding season were made in December 2008 with a $100 fee, but quarterly invoices are sent during the nomination year through October. If farms are delinquent, Breeders’ Cup attempts to collect payment for several additional months but at some point tells the stallion owners the horse is out of the program, meaning any offspring conceived that year are ineligible for regular nomination. Nomination fees for stallions are set at a price equal to the live foal stud fee, and escalate if the stallion produces more than 50 foals.
The affected foals by Stonewall stallions have not yet been declared ineligible, though many breeders have been notified of the problem by Breeders’ Cup officials, who are said to be trying to resolve the problem through negotiations with the two banks that filed lawsuits against Stonewall—J.P. Morgan Chase and Fifth Third Bank—in hopes they will pay the fees. The Paulick Report has not been able to confirm which Stonewall stallions are affected by the delinquency.
Advertising, including stallion directories, may have promoted the Stonewall stallions as nominated to the Breeders’ Cup, leading mare owners to believe resulting foals could be nominated to the program.
Copyright © 2010, Blenheim Publishing, LLC
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Tags: Breeders' Cup, fifth third bank, J. P. Morgan Chase, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, stonewall farm
July 27th, 2010 at 11:20 am
Don’t forget that it will also have an effect on whether or not European buyers will purchase the yearlings at the sales - if they are not by BC sires they cannot be registered with the EBF and if they are not EBF they cannot run in over 80% of the 2yo maiden races in Europe.
July 27th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Can’t feel sorry for these horse owners. Someone should introduce them to the phrase “Due Diligence”. Lots of people saw this BK coming. The signs were there.
July 27th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
If the ‘deal’ is “too good to be true”, then it normally is just that - not true.
July 27th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
G Biscuit,
You sound like your typical crooked KY horseman. Why not speak up if you saw it coming?
July 27th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
G Biscuit, so you’d make the lives of those foals nearly worthless because people were stupid? I hope the BC isn’t as short-sighted as you and is able to resolve the situation.
July 27th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
I would assume the BC will handle any late fees “by the book”. In other words, if fees are late the only was to make the stallions elgible would be to pay according to the BC’s rules regarding LATE FEES. If the BC were to make ANY exceptions for the Stonewall stallions those who followed the BC rules would be treated unfairly and the BC would be wide open for lawsuits.
July 27th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Was G Biscuit supposed to take out an ad in the Paulick report “warning” people South of the Border?
MED, how is not being BC nominated make the “lives of those foals nearly worthless”?
July 27th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
Wesly,
You one funny guy. But rather then stick his head in the sand, he should have spoken up or maybe you should have..