Archive for the ‘People’ Category

By Ray Paulick

“How do you corral 30,000 horses, having taken them off the range where they lived, and just say ‘night night’?” asked Madeleine Pickens, the animal-loving wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens and better known in Thoroughbred racing circles as the former Madeleine Paulson, who with her late husband, Allen Paulson, developed one of the most successful Thoroughbred breeding and racing operations of the 1980s and ‘90s. Allen Paulson died in 2000, and she remarried in 2005.

In recent years, Madeleine Pickens has spent sleepless nights agonizing over the plight of the American West’s wild mustangs, which have been rounded up and held in pens in increasing numbers over the last eight years by cowboys hired by the federal government’s Bureau of Land Management after complaints from cattlemen that the horses were depleting grazing areas. As federal funding for the wild horses was squeezed and the number of people interested in adopting them declined, BLM officials were faced with an unpleasant option: allow the horses to be sent to slaughterhouses or perform mass euthanasia.

The story of these wild horses – “America’s animal” she calls them – hit Madeleine Pickens’ radar screen at a time when she was putting considerable personal resources of time and money into efforts to end the slaughter of all horses. She studied the issue, then hired a polling company to gauge public opinion on the slaughter of horses for human consumption, finding out that seven in 10 Americans oppose the practice. She then paid for anti-slaughter advertisements in the New York Times, lobbied members of Congress and worked with other groups and individuals. Ultimately, however, those efforts ended in frustration because, she said, the pro-slaughter lobby, assisted by the cattle industry, was simply too entrenched with Washington, D.C., powerbrokers. Anti-slaughter bills passed by the U.S House of Representatives were stopped in the Senate. And she was outraged that so many Thoroughbred industry leaders failed to help.

“I would lay in bed, crying, and say, ‘How can we stop this? What can I do?” she told the Paulick Report. “I’m not a religious person, but a spiritual one, and I swear to God that I prayed for an answer.”

One night, she said, the answer came to her. “Why not buy a ranch and give every horse a home?”

Pickens’ plan for a horse sanctuary would be similar to how cattlemen got access to millions of acres of federal land, she said. “This is how the cattlemen got going,” she said. “They got the BLM land attached to their ranches with sweetheart deals. They pay a very low lease for it, and most aren’t even using the land now.”

Pickens has a private foundation in the formative stages, a key to which will be tax credits for donors, she told the Washington Post. She met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, where half of the wild horses are held. Pickens isn’t prepared to say how much she needs to raise for an endowment to make the plan work, but she is confident she will be able to make it happen. She envisions corporate sponsors, campgrounds and cabins for tourists to come and observe the horses. “There is so much support for this right now,” she said. “It’s amazing the number of calls and emails I’ve received from people who want to help or go to work there.” (Click here to see the official Madeleine Pickens Web site.)

She estimated that she will need upwards of a million acres, and is currently in negotiations on three different properties. She took her plan to BLM officials, who leaked the story to the Washington Post, prematurely, in her opinion. “The story got out way too early while I’m working on the land deal,” she said. “The land people may suddenly say, ‘Ohhh, deep pockets,’ and become unreasonable. I’m trying to  be responsible and do the right thing here. I’m very confident that next year this whole thing will be in place.”

Pickens said she felt like someone who’s been trying to walk through quicksand the last couple of years and can’t seem to get out of it. “Nothing was happening, and you can’t believe the idiocy of it all,” she said. “Why do people not get it?”

She grew weary of trying to work for a solution in Congress. “The people in the racehorse industry weren’t on board and we had all those cattlemen against us,” Pickens said. “We really couldn’t win. I give the people who have been fighting this for so long a lot of credit.

“I think this will work because I came up with a private-sector solution rather than trying to put a bill through Washington where politicians could have their way and destroy it. When the bureaucrats do it, it costs too much and doesn’t work. With private individuals, you’re not indebted to every group or compromised by lobbyists.”

Her proposal has been widely applauded, within the BLM and the general public. While her husband, a well-known corporate raider, oilman and philanthropist, has been a highly visible proponent for a plan to make America energy independent, Madeleine Pickens became an overnight celebrity because of her desire to save the horses. The week her plan went public, ABC’s World News Tonight named her “Person of the Week.” Some outside of the horse business remembered her as the heroine (pictured, left) who rescued hundreds of abandoned cats and dogs in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

“I knew people cared, but I was somewhat stunned at the way this story took off like a wildfire,” she said. “It surprised me, but it really shouldn’t have."

A PLACE FOR EX-RACEHORSES, TOO
Pickens said the ranch will not just be a refuge for wild horses. She wants it to be all inclusive for different breeds, and especially ex-Thoroughbred racehorses that often end up unwanted or sold to killer-buyers who send them off for slaughter in Canada or Mexico. There are no remaining horse slaughterhouses in the United States.

“We’re going to have enough land where I don’t know how we can say no to anything,” she said. “It won’t happen overnight. But I want to give the Thoroughbred industry an opportunity to do something here, and to make people feel that they are being responsible for the animals in their sport. I’m going to ask the industry for their support. It’s going to be difficult for the racing industry to change their way of thinking. With this, I hope they can say they have an exit strategy for their horses.”

Pickens is still angry over the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s refusal to support recent anti-slaughter legislation in Congress. She was one of a large number of major industry participants to sign a letter written by owner-breeder Josephine Abercrombie to members of Congress stating their support of anti-slaughter legislation and their disapproval of the NTRA’s position. “The NTRA had to compromise themselves with Goodlatte (Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte, former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and now ranking member), who has helped them with gambling legislation but has close ties to the cattle industry,” she said. “By getting behind my proposal, they won’t have to worry about the threat of someone like Goodlatte.”

The Jockey Club is another group that has disappointed Pickens. “They register 35,000 horses a year and they say those horses are worth millions and millions of dollars,” she said. “And they come up with some plan where people can give a few dollars when they register a foal and the Jockey Club says they’ll match up to $200,000 a year. This is the same old b.s. — $200,000 is a peanut. How dare they say this is all they’re going to put into a retirement fund for all the horses who don’t make it. It’s all part of what makes the system not work.

“In every business it’s leadership, and we’ve had horrible leadership in racing. Will Farish (vice chairman of the Jockey Club and owner of Lane’s End Farm, where Pickens retired Grade I winner Rock Hard Ten to stud) can be a good guy. He’s head of this and head of that, and people look up to him. But here’s a man who won’t go against slaughter. Why? Is it because he’s from Houston, where so many of the cattlemen are from?”

Pickens, who said she has withdrawn from the racing business largely because of its inaction on this issue, said she thinks the Thoroughbred industry can learn a great deal from how her proposal has been embraced by the public.

“Racing people can learn that they have a chance to endear the public to them,” she said. “They get a few gamblers here and there, but they are in trouble because they seem to have lost sight of the animal who is the athlete. They have too many fatalities and too many injuries that happen in public on national television. When that happens, it exposes the fact they have no exit strategy for the horses.

“Again, there is no leadership. Those who have been in it for a long time have done nothing to endear people to the business. Now they have an opportunity like the BLM has to try and resolve one of their problems.”

I asked Pickens why she is doing all this, what is driving her to take on a project so big?

She told me of how she emigrated to the United States from Iraq in 1969 because she wanted “to come to a new world and do something with my new country.”

But then she confessed to another reason, something that haunted her when she first learned about the horrors of slaughter: “Maybe it’s because I’m ashamed that I was in the industry for years and never knew there was a slaughterhouse for so many horses at the end of the day. I’m so ashamed I never knew. And people who know about it and aren’t doing anything, they should be ashamed, too.”

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick

I always subscribed to the theory that you can’t tell a book by its cover. For that reason, I was always impressed but never really that surprised when one of the grumpiest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with also turned out to be one of the most charitably minded.

Today, on this day of giving thanks, instead of focusing on an equine charity, the Paulick Report is writing about someone in the equine industry who has been a tireless champion for a charity that anyone who’s ever heard ringing bells outside of a grocery store is familiar with: the Salvation Army. 

I first met Ron Mitchell when we were colleagues at the Thoroughbred Times in 1988. Ron was all business, someone who learned the ins and outs of the horse world working at a bloodstock agency before entering the journalism profession. Like many journalists working at trade publications, Ron always seemed to know more about a story than he could write. Maybe that’s why he always seemed so grumpy!

I left the Times in 1991 to work for the startup daily paper, The Racing Times, and Ron shifted his notebook to the Bloodhorse magazine shortly thereafter. We were reunited in 1992 when I was named chief editor of the latter publication.

During my 15 years there, Ron had his responsibilities shifted at various times. He always accepted each new challenge with the same stern face and gruff attitude, then dove into his position with great dedication and a sense of pride and ownership for what he was doing.

It’s that same sense of pride, combined with a belief in social responsibility toward his community, that has driven Ron (pictured, Vickie Mitchell photo) to stand outside a Lexington, Ky., grocery store hours at a time several days a week during the holiday season over the last 15 years, ringing a bell and encouraging people to donate to the Salvation Army kettle. He says he does it because it’s always been a great source of news tips from people in the Thoroughbred industry who shop at the Kroger grocery store in his Chevy Chase neighborhood. But I’ve never believed that.

Just as his career in journalism has been transformed from manual typewriters to laptops and a black and white newsweekly tabloid to a 24/7 Internet site, Ron’s methodology for raising money for the Salvation Army has gone digital.

You’ll still find him at the Kroger on Euclid Avenue, where he’s been the “Curlin” of bell ringers – earning more money for the Salvation Army than anyone else in Central Kentucky. But Ron’s going the social networking route with his efforts to help those less fortunate, and has established a fund-raising page online. Donors can designate where their funds go: to the Salvation Army in Lexington, or to one in a city or neighborhood of your choice. 

Be assured that your generous donations will be put to good use. As Ron said of the Salvation Army: “I did extensive research on charities and concluded that the SA does the most with the least. They do not fritter away their money on high-paid executives and they have a program that emphasizes assisting their clients with personal self-improvement and trying to get them back on their feet. The SA is not a ‘handout’ organization. Although they are not considered an ‘equine charity,’ many current and former workers within the Bluegrass horse industry utilize the many services offered by the SA."

If you can’t make it to Ron’s Kroger in Lexington, consider a donation to your local Salvation Army bell ringer. Better yet, go online to Ron Mitchell’s personal Salvation Army fundraising page and click on Ron’s "Donate to My Kettle" button to make a donation there.

You might even coax a rare smile out of him!

The Paulick Report will spotlight a different charity each day of Thanksgiving week, when we traditionally take time to reflect and give thanks to the blessings we have and to help those less fortunate. This is a difficult time for many Americans, and charitable organizations are feeling the effects of the global economic crisis. We hope you’ll spend a few minutes to learn about some of the charities that make us a better industry, and consider giving to these or to others that we won’t have the opportunity to publicize. Remember that no gift is too small.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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In the nine hours of Breeders’ Cup telecasts last Friday and Saturday, the strangest segment by far came during a brief interview between comedic sportscaster Kenny Mayne and Michael Iavarone, president of the IEAH stable that owns a majority of Big Brown, when Iavarone said he and members of his family had been the subject of a death threat more than four months earlier on the morning of the Belmont Stakes.

Mayne opened the interview by saying Iavarone showed a lot of emotion after jockey Kent Desormeaux pulled Big Brown out of the race at the top of the stretch when the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner was hopelessly beaten.

Iavarone picked it up from there.

“The morning of the (June 7) Belmont Stakes, I had been woken up around 10 a.m.,” he told Mayne. "There was a knock on my door and there were several New York City Police Department detectives. They asked me to come outside because they didn’t want to talk to me in front of my family. They told me there had been a serious death threat lodged against me, basically from Tallahassee, Florida, from an extremist saying that if anything should happen to Big Brown in the race, myself and my family were not safe. Basically I was followed by eight to nine New York detectives all day, everywhere I went. Obviously after the horse was pulled up the rest is obvious.”

Mayne said ESPN/ABC learned of Iavarone’s story the day before the live interview aired and suggested that Iavarone’s emotional reaction to Big Brown’s defeat was “painted by that threat, not what the shortfall was of not winning the Triple Crown.”

“My immediate reaction was split in half,” Iavarone told Mayne. “Obviously there was concern for the horse and concern for my family. I was headed in both directions and both of them were catastrophic at the time. The first thing I did was grab my daughters and make sure we were out of the way and safe and tears were falling. It was just a terrible day for us.”

With 24 hours lead time before the interview, Mayne said ESPN/ABC “tried to contact the detective you said investigated the case and were unable to reach him.” He then asked Iavarone, “Did they ever follow up with you and say the case was closed? Do you feel comfortable now?”

“Obviously the horse is sound and is retired so I would not believe they would have any reason to harm myself or my family,” Iavarone said. “They have not told me the case is closed.”

The strange timing of Iavarone’s revelations notwithstanding, there are some details about his story that just don’t add up. I was seated directly behind Iavarone in the box section of Belmont during the running of the Belmont Stakes, and saw just one person who was clearly serving in a security capacity – a burly African-American man wearing a dark suit, an open collared white shirt and a “Big Brown” button on his lapel. It appears to be the same individual who has traveled with Iavarone to other races, including last weekend’s Breeders’ Cup.

Immediately after the race, while Big Brown was being unsaddled, I stood directly below the IEAH box and took a series of photographs of a shocked Iavarone, who was surrounded by his family members and fellow IEAH executive Richard Schiavo. There appeared to be no additional security around Iavarone and his family, only the same bodyguard described above. Certainly, I didn’t see “eight or nine New York detectives” in the immediate area.

I’m not accusing Iavarone of making up a story about a death threat. There were a series of incidents and revelations that made Iavarone something of a lightning rod with individuals within and outside of the racing community, some of which inflamed animal rights activities. There was the revelation that Big Brown raced legally on anabolic steroids when he won the Derby, the disclosure that Iavarone had lied about his past life as a “high profile banker on Wall Street,” the fact he had been fined and suspended by the National Association of Security Dealers, and the determination to run Big Brown in the Belmont despite suffering a quarter crack and missing training before the race.

Attempts by the Paulick Report to contact New York Racing Association officials to determine their knowledge of the alleged death threat and increased New York Police Department security detail were not successful.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one holding his breath when the gates opened for the fourth race Saturday at the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting from Santa Anita. Seven “old” men and one still young woman, all of them Living Legends who have retired from professional race riding, were set to show that their skills had not all faded.

This wasn’t like one of those Old Timers Day baseball games at Yankee Stadium I remember watching on television in the 1960s, when pitches were lobbed up to the plate and spikes weren’t sharpened for slides into second base. These eight Living Legends would be aboard racehorses still in the prime of their careers in a game that can be dangerous for even the youngest, fastest-thinking and quickest-reacting athletes.

Thankfully, the eight horses and riders made the seven-furlong course safely, with 59-year-old Canadian Sandy Hawley, one of the all-time great riders and gentlemen of the game, romping to victory aboard the race favorite, Tribal Chief. (Click here to view the race.) Hawley took his charge wire to wire to win by 6 ½ lengths, looking every bit as good as he did in his prime 30 years ago, when he was nine times Canada’s champion jockey and four times led all North American riders by wins. Tribal Chief gave Hawley his 6,450^th career victory, 10^th on the list of all-time North American leaders.

Following Hawley across the finish line were horses ridden by Living Legends Jerry Bailey, Gary Stevens, Pat Day, Julie Krone, Jacinto Vasquez, Chris McCarron and Angel Cordero Jr. (Equibase chart.) All are members of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. Not riding but participating in autograph sessions were three other Hall of Famers: Eddie Delahoussaye, Laffit Pincay Jr. and Jorge Velasquez.

Turns out I wasn’t the only nervous one. “I was a little nervous going into the starting gate, because I haven’t been out of a gate in 10 years,” Hawley said afterwards. “That was the part that I was worried about, so I grabbed a big handful of mane.”

The Living Legends race turned out to be a popular promotion for the riders and racing fans, and was a clever way to kick off a week featuring the 25th Breeders’ Cup world championships. Fans in the Los Angeles area and at tracks across did more than watch the Living Legends; they bet on them to the tune of over $1 million, with the $438,012 in the win, place and show pool the highest on the 10-race card.

There was immediate talk of holding another similar event in the future.

 

By Ray Paulick

Halsey Minor, the technology entrepreneur and Thoroughbred owner and breeder whose bid to purchase Hialeah Park was recently rebuffed by owner John Brunetti, has filed a class-action lawsuit against the auction company Sotheby’s for transparency and disclosure issues that may parallel those in the Thoroughbred auction business.

Minor, 43, was sued by the New York-based Sotheby’s for $16.8 million last month after he failed to pay for three works of art he purchased through the auction house in May, including $8.6 million for the “Peaceable Kingdom With the Leopard of Serenity,” by 19^th Century American folk artist Edward Hicks. On Tuesday morning in federal court in the Northern District of California, Minor filed a class-action claim against Sotheby’s for deceptive practices, unjust enrichment and fraud, plus one individual count of breach of fiduciary duty. (Click here for a copy of the suit.)

The lawsuit stems from Minor’s claim that Sotheby’s was deceptive in not disclosing its own economic interest in the artwork he purchased. Sotheby’s was owed money by art collector Ralph Esmerian, the suit claims, and the debt was secured by the works of art that Minor purchased, with Sotheby’s allegedly retaining the proceeds from the sale in order to reduce the debt. Sotheby’s failed to disclose those details verbally or in its sale catalogue, which the suit claims is a violation of New York statute and common law.

Furthermore, it is claimed, Dara Mitchell, director of the American Paintings Department for Sotheby’s, acted as an advisor to Minor and recommended the purchase of “Peaceable Kingdom” and steered him away from other works. The suit states: “Sotheby’s took on obligations to plaintiff beyond those of an independent auction house or traditional middleman when engaged as art consultant and purchasing agent … Sotheby’s breached its fiduciary duty to plaintiff by intentionally and in bad faith concealing from plaintiff information concerning its economic interest in the auctioned property.”

Minor seeks to represent what the suit projects are thousands of other buyers who may have purchased property at Sotheby’s auctions in which Sotheby’s had an undisclosed economic interest. Proposed class-action members can be identified and located through access to Sotheby’s records, the suit states. It seeks relevant information about previous buyers from Sotheby’s over a six-year period.

The issue of a sale company’s economic interest in property it sells has not come up in legal action in the Thoroughbred auction business to this writer’s knowledge, but it is not uncommon for proceeds from horses sold to to be used to settle debts to an auction company; those details are not disclosed publicly. Further, individuals employed by auction companies in various positions have had undisclosed economic interests in horses sold by the auction companies.

An attorney familiar with art and Thorouthbred auctions commented to the Paulick Report: “Sotheby’s will take the same tactic the horse business does in such matters and say, ‘No one twisted your arm to bid — if you were willing to pay it, it must be a fair price,’ and ignore the ‘informed buyer’ requirement of the fair market value definition.”

The Los Angeles law firm Dreier Stein Kahan Browne Woods George is representing Minor.

The suit demands a jury trial and seeks an injunction requiring preliminary and permanent disclosure in catalogues by Sotheby’s of any economic interests the company has in property it auctions; repayments to Minor and class-action members of unjust enrichments by Sotheby’s from property’s in which it had an economic interest; compensatory and punitive damages for wrongful conduct; and treble damage in accordance with New York law.

Seven years ago, Sotheby’s and counterpart auction house Christie’s paid a $537-million settlement to customers for price-fixing on commissions and Sotheby’s former chairman Alfred Taubman was convicted of price fixing and sentenced to one year in prison.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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 By Ray Paulick

The Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill criminalizing the transportation of horses for the purpose of slaughtering them for human consumption. The action, by voice vote, came less than 24 hours after Josephine Abercrombie, a prominent Kentucky Thoroughbred owner and breeder, sent  a letter (co-signed by 45 others) to Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and ranking member Lamar Smith (R-Texas), urging passage of the bill over the “neutral” position taken by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association one week earlier. The bill, H.R. 6598, known as the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, now moves to the House floor.

Abercrombie’s letter (shown below) seemed to trump an earlier letter by NTRA president Alex Waldrop, which said the NTRA had “concerns with the bill and potential unintended consequences.” The NTRA had previously supported anti-slaughter legislation filed but not passed in 2003; Waldrop’s letter did not address other anti-slaughter bills currently under consideration. Abercrombie and her co-signors urged support of all anti-slaughter legislation currently before the 110^th Congress. “We and so many others in the Thoroughbred breeding and racing community strongly support all legislative initiatives, including H.R. 503, S. 311, and H.R. 6598, which will bring horse slaughter to a swift end,” Abercrombie  wrote. “We want you to know that the NTRA’s position is not representative of the larger community.”

There currently are no slaughter plants operating in the U.S., the two in Texas having been shut down by a court ruling and a plant in Illinois shuttered after a state law was passed. There has been an increase in the number of horses being transported across the borders into Canada and Mexico, however, and H.R. 6598 provides enforcement for federal officials to end that. Horses confiscated would be under the jusisdiction of the attorney general, who, according to the bill, “shall provide for the humane placement or other humane disposition of any horse seized.”

Following is the text of the letter from Josephine Abercrombie and the list of co-signors.

Sept. 23, 2008

Dear Chairman Conyers and Ranking Member Smith:

Last week, during a Judiciary Committee mark up of H.R. 6598 – the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, it was revealed that the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) does not support current legislation to ban horse slaughter. Needless to say, we were surprised at the revelation and disappointed by the reasons NTRA put forward, none of which are valid.

As Thoroughbred industry leaders who have long supported all Congressional actions to end this cruel industry, we were disappointed that the NTRA voiced unfounded concerns to those who support the slaughter of horses thus jeopardizing the passage of this legislation. We and so many others in the Thoroughbred breeding and racing community strongly support all legislative initiatives, including H.R. 503, S. 311, and H.R. 6598, which will bring horse slaughter to a swift end. We want you to know that the NTRA’s position is not representative of the larger community.

We commend you, Chairman Conyers, for providing this bill with a fair hearing, which has allowed it to move to this point. Given the narrow opportunity to act before Congress adjourns, we hope that H.R. 6598 can swiftly be moved from Committee to the floor of the full House of Representatives for final consideration. This bill is too important for politics to delay its enactment. Every five minutes an American horse is slaughtered. This bill can stop that.

H.R. 6598 is a sound bill that puts enforcement into the hands of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and its agents who are trained and staffed to deal with criminal issues. We feel confident that the DOJ has the necessary experience in dealing with large animal confiscations having led such high profile investigations involving animal fighting, Class B Dealers, and puppy mills. As with other statutes, under H.R. 6598, the DOJ has the authority to ask for assistance from other federal, state and non-governmental agencies during its enforcement of the law and this flexibility has shown to be highly effective.

Under a close examination of the concerns asserted by those opposing the bill, we can see no legitimate reason not to pass this legislation. As representatives of the Thoroughbred industry we look forward to the next Committee mark up of H.R. 6598 and urge you to pass H.R. 6598 as written, without amendments, as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Josephine Abercrombie

 

John H. Adger, racing and bloodstock manager, Stonerside Stable, Houston, TX; 
Peggy Augustus, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Keswick Stables, Keswick, VA; 
Betty and Gary Biszantz, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Cobra Farm, Lexington, KY and Solana Beach, CA; 
Nadia Sanan Briggs, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Padua Stables, Ocala, FL; 
Anne and Cot Campbell, Thoroughbred owners, Dogwood Stable, Aiken, SC; 
Pat Chapman, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Someday Farm, Doylestown, PA; 
Jenny Craig, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Rancho Paseana, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; 
Carol Farmer, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Shadowlawn Farm, Midway, KY; 
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Ford, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Diamond A Farms, Versailles, KY; 
Maegan Ford, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Diamond A Farms, Versailles, KY; 
Staci and Arthur Hancock, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Stone Farm, Paris, KY; 
Mark Hennig, Thoroughbred owner and trainer, Garden City, NY; 
Sara Jones Hill, Thoroughbred owner, Coconut Grove, FL; 
Gretchen and Roy Jackson, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Lael Farm, West Grove, PA; 
Barbara Banke and Jess Jackson, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Stonestreet Farm, Lexington, KY; 
Jackson W. Knowlton, Thoroughbred owner, managing partner, Sackatoga Stable, Saratoga Springs, NY;  
Julie Krone, Racing Hall of Fame jockey, Los Angeles, CA; 
Janice and Robert McNair, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Stonerside Stables, Houston, TX; 
Ellen Moelis and Herbert I Moelis, Thoroughbred Charities of America, Candyland Farm, Middletown, DE; 
Maggi Moss, Thoroughbred owner, Moss Equestrians, Des Moines, Iowa; 
Joanne and Paul Oreffice, Thoroughbred owners, Dogwood Stables, Paradise Valley, AZ; 
Debby and John Oxley, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Fawn Leap Farm, Midway, KY; 
Madeleine Paulson Pickens, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; 
Dan Rosenberg, Rosenberg Thoroughbred Consulting,, Midway, KY; 
James D. Squires, Two Bucks Farm, Versailles, KY; 
Angie Athayde-Stevens, Thoroughbred consultant, Los Angeles, CA; 
Gary Stevens, Racing Hall of Fame jockey; Los Angeles, CA; 
Deborah W. Tatham and Thomas P. Tatham, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Oak Cliff Breeders, Houston, TX;
Melanie and Jeffrey Tucker, Stone Bridge Farm, Schuylerville, NY; 
Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Lexington, KY and Saratoga Springs, NY;
Kim and Nick Zito, Thoroughbred owner and trainer, Lexington, KY and Saratoga Springs, NY.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick

Richard Duchossois, who became the largest shareholder in Churchill Downs Inc. when his wholly owned Arlington Park racetrack was merged with Churchill in September 2000, has been steadily adding to his holdings over the last 10 months. In September alone, the Chicago industrialist has purchased 17,296 shares of CDI.

As part of the original agreement to merge Arlington into Churchill, Duchossois Industries received 3,150,000 shares of CDI and had a right to receive another 1,250,000 shares.

Last November, Duchossois bought nearly 15,000 additional shares in the $49-$50 per share range. In December he bought approximately 25,000 in the $52 range. In March he purchased 69,000 at prices between $45-$47 per share. In August he bought 29,000 shares, about a third of them at $37 per share and the rest around $43.

Churchill stock (CHDN) closed at $50.48 per share on Friday.

The only other major insider trading transactions of CDI stock in the last year was the sale of 15,931 shares by CEO Bob Evans.

Churchill officials are hoping the Kentucky legislature passes legislation permitting racetracks in the state to add slot machines as several other racing states have done, including to the north and West Virginia to the east. Pro-slots legislator Greg Stumbo (formerly the state’s attorney general) said recently he will mount a challenge to be Kentucky’s speaker of the house, a position currently held by Jody Richards, who has fallen into disfavor with many in the horse industry because he blocked a casino bill earlier this year.

The company has had some difficulties in 2008 over contract negotiations with horsemen at CDI-owned Calder in Florida and its flagship track in Louisville, Ky. Purse cuts resulted at both tracks. It will be adding slot machines at Calder after a local referendum was approved, and its other track, Fair Grounds, will be offering record purses at its upcoming meeting, thanks to slot machine revenue.