CULLEN: SALES BAN ONLY THE BEGINNING
By Ray Paulick
Know and Trust is a 2-year-old filly owned by some former clients of bloodstock agent Jim Cullen and trained by Cullen’s childhood friend and college roommate William Denzik Jr.
The filly’s name is something of an inside joke: “know and trust” is an expression Cullen often used when communicating with his clients. Today, many of those clients and a variety of others in the Thoroughbred industry feel they have been betrayed or misled by the man who operates Cullen Bloodstock, the Oakland Group advertising and marketing firm, and the now-defunct Four Board Stables. Cullen is currently licensed as a trainer by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. He trains a string of horses for his wife under the name Florence Racing Stable and recently claimed a horse on behalf of Margaux Farm’s Steve Johnson. He also sells horse insurance for Old Colony Insurance Company of Lexington.
“We named the filly as an homage to Cullen,” said John Trumbulovich of Chicago, who first got involved with the Kentucky native in 2006. “Obviously we didn’t know him and certainly shouldn’t have trusted him.”
Cullen was recently given a one-year banishment from participation at Keeneland Association auctions, based on violation of a Code of Conduct written by the Sales Integrity Task Force, an initiative of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Fasig-Tipton is also enforcing the one-year suspension, which runs through 2010, and other sales companies around the country are considering taking the same action. The sanctions came earlier in November, nine months after Trumbulovich, Kevin Geiger of Colorado and Vincent Colbert of Massachusetts contacted the Task Force with complaints about their former bloodstock adviser. “We could easily have turned our back on this, walked away and say we got screwed,” Colbert said. “We talked it over and decided we didn’t want this to happen to somebody else.”
But that is just the beginning of Cullen’s troubles. He has been sued by several parties, including horse owner Cam Horton, the stallion season firm Early Season Income, National City Bank, and Wells Fargo Bank. The Internal Revenue Service says Cullen owes $233,143.72 in taxes from 2003-05. He agreed in 2007 to pay Cam Horton $333,000 for not reimbursing Horton for a season to A.P. Indy after Horton’s mare aborted, and has not met that obligation. A Fayette County judge has ordered him to pay National City Bank $348,181.65. Wells Fargo is in the process of foreclosing on Cullen’s home.
Cullen has acknowledged under oath that he hasn’t paid stud fees to a number of farms with which he’s done business, that he may have misstated his ownership or equity in horses used as collateral for a line of credit, and that, at the time of the deposition in March 2009, he couldn’t even examine his own books because “I owe my accountant $1,800.”
Several other parties claim Cullen owes them money, but they’ve given up trying to collect. “I lost quite a bit of money but I just had to get away from him, said Banshee Farm’s Scott Mallory, who “inherited” Cullen as a business partner following the 2006 crash of the Comair flight in Lexington that killed his father, Dan Mallory. “You can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip, so I just decided to leave it alone. He’s always promised ‘I’ll get you paid one of these days,’ but it gets to the point that you want to get as far away from him as you can. That’s what most people have done”
Cullen calls the ban by Keeneland the result of “a banking situation…I understand that two of my clients did not receive my proceeds (from sales of horses),” he told the Paulick Report. “The difficulty is that at least one of the people who filed complaints against me (with the Sales Integrity Task Force) owes me money. This has nothing to do with unscrupulous behavior on my part.”
“Everyone’s always gotten what they paid for,” Cullen continued. “I have not held stud fees. I have had trouble with ESI (Early Season Income)—two separate situations that are not applicable to this decision by Keeneland. I have been working in good faith with ESI and everything, for all intents and purposes, is satisfied.”
A number of people would dispute that statement, including an official at Early Season Income. Cullen’s deposition in the National City lawsuit contradicts what he told the Paulick Report about holding stud fees and everyone he’s done business “always” getting what they paid for.
FROM JOURNALISM TO PINHOOKING
Cullen is a former journalist who worked for Thoroughbred Times as a news reporter, then served as editor of the Texas Thoroughbred magazine while contributing to the Blood-Horse as a free-lance correspondent. He also was employed for a short time by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association based in Lexington. As recently as August of this year, he was a guest speaker at a new owners’ seminar Blood-Horse Publications sponsored in conjunction with the Texas Thoroughbred Association prior to a Fasig-Tipton yearling sale.
He went to work for Terry Finley’s West Point Thoroughbreds in 2001, operating out of a Lexington office until parting ways in 2003. (Finley opted not to comment on Cullen to the Paulick Report, saying only that he strongly urged Cullen not use Finley as a reference in future job applications.) He also worked briefly selling stallion seasons for Adena Springs in 2006. That ended, according to Jack Brothers, a longtime bloodstock adviser to farm owner Frank Stronach, because of “misappropriated funds.” Cullen claims that Adena owes him money.
A $40,000 purchase of an El Prado yearling in 2003 that turned into a $360,000 pinhooking success the following year put Cullen on the map as a bloodstock agent, and he was able to establish a significant line of credit with National City Bank.
Cullen bought horses at public auction and formed syndicates to race or breed and charged administrative or management fees. Among the partners were Trumbulovich, Geiger and Colbert. Geiger first started asking questions of Cullen about some of the financial aspects of the partnership, among them: how were purse earnings or sales proceeds being distributed? When he didn’t get satisfactory answers Geiger started networking with some of the other partners, including Trumbulovich and Colbert. “It opened a floodgate,” Trumbulovich said.
“Nobody that dealt with him knew who owned what,” said Mallory.
‘I’M A GOOD HORSEMAN. I’M OBVIOUSLY NOT A GOOD BUSINESS PERSON’
A number of mares in the partnerships were bred, and the partners were billed for stud fees, which they subsequently paid for, according to Cullen’s sworn testimony in the March 2009 deposition involving the National City Bank lawsuit. Under questioning from attorney Emily Cowles of Morgan & Pottinger (representing National City) and Mike Meuser of Miller Griffin and Marks (representing Trumbulovic, Colbert and Geiger), Cullen admitted that on numerous occasions he did not use the money billed to clients for stud fees to pay those fees. Many of the fees were never paid to the farms.
Here is an excerpt regarding Cullen’s purchase of stallion seasons, the billing of clients and non-payment to farms:
MEUSER: Okay, and I can show you the other invoices. But on each occasion that you billed Mr. Colbert or Mr. Geiger or Mr. Trumbulovic for these stud feeds you labeled them specifically on your invoice that that’s what they were being billed for.
CULLEN: Correct. Yes, sir.
MEUSER: All right. And you had made the contractual arrangements with the farms to obtain those seasons?
CULLEN: Correct.
MEUSER: And you knew that when you received those monies from my clients you were obligated to to use them to satisfy those obligations?
CULLEN: See, I didn’t know that. I thought like I, like I’ve made clear, I thought that the whole protection of an LLC was designated to give you license to use that to the best benefit of the company as provided you satisfied what this obligation was for.
MEUSER: Well, you can certainly understand…
CULLEN: I can understand. Yes, sir.
MEUSER: … that a client who received this bill and paid it would have the expectation that their agent who they trusted would use those monies properly?
CULLEN: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I, I agree to that. I mean.
MEUSER: That’s all I have.
CULLEN: Okay.
Meuser and Cowles coaxed out of Cullen admissions that sale proceeds from horses had not been distributed to partners, that stud fees to stallions had not been paid, and that farms often attached liens to the horses being sold, at times without the knowledge of the partners who had paid the stud fees to Cullen. He called the incidents inadvertent errors, and at one point said, “I’m a good horseman. I’m obviously not a good business perso.”
Cullen also admitted that he had not paid Fasig-Tipton for at least two horses he had purchased from the company, including a $100,000 yearling by Yankee Gentleman out of Silver Spool, later named Patsy Ann. Cullen said in his deposition that he has a signed agreement with Fasig-Tipton to pay for the horses because, as he told Fasig-Tipton executive Boyd Browning, “I don’t have it,” when asked for the money to pay for them. He had made no payments on the agreement as of March 2009. “There isn’t a hard schedule…basically it’s open-ended,” he told Cowles under questioning.
“Wow,” was all Cowles could say in response.
“Again,” said Cullen, “I think he’s (Browning)—given the economic climate and the fact he knows I’m a good pay I think he’s—well there’s been one payment made of $4,000….”
“So do you still owe Fasig-Tipton a hundred grand for Patsy Ann,” Cowles asked.
“I do,” said Cullen. “I, I owe them. Technically when we discussed it, and I hope, I don’t think Boyd would mind me sharing, he was willing to basically write it off. And I’m the one that said no. I bought it. I owe you. I will pay you. Just give me the time to pay it off. Anybody that I, I again, I haven’t declared bankruptcy. I’m not running. Any of the accounts I’ve made I’ve been—I will acknowledge and be responsible for. And Boyd knows me and knows that my word is good and I think that’s why he’s allowing me to pay this off.”
When I called Browning at Fasig-Tipton and asked if Cullen owes money to the company, he said, “I’m not going to answer that question. I’m uncomfortable answering that question. It wouldn’t be prudent. His banning (from participation in sales) is not related for any failure to pay money.”
I then told Browning that Cullen said in the deposition that Browning thought Cullen was “good pay.” If put under oath, I asked, would Browning agree with that statement?
There was a pause, followed by a long, slow chuckle. “If I was under oath I would have to answer that question, but I’m not under oath,” Browning said. “I would rather not have Mr. Cullen speak for me.”
Cullen’s relationship with homebuilder Cam Horton began in Dec. 2005 when Horton agreed to buy a season to A.P. Indy through Cullen Bloodstock for $318,000 to use to breed to his mare, Private Pursuit. Cullen would receive a $15,000 fee. The agreement called for the fee to be refunded if the mare did not get in foal or lost her pregnancy. On Oct. 12, 2006, after being pregnant to the cover of A.P. Indy, Private Pursuit aborted, but Horton didn’t get his money back from Cullen. Cullen wrote a letter to Horton in February 2007, saying he was owed $105,000 from Adena Springs for his commissions in “selling $21 million in stud fees,” would sell some horses. In addition, he wrote, he was owed $42,000 in stallion fees and $34,000 was “owed to me by a multi-millionaire who just refuses to pay me even though he acknowledges the debt.”
Horton never got paid and took him to court. In July 2007, Cullen agreed to pay $333,000, with $25,000 payable at the time of the agreement, $75,000 due on or before Aug. 1, 2007, $100,000 due on or before Oct. 1, 2007 andd the balance due by Dec. 31, 2007. Horton’s attorney, Phillip Scott, said Cullen didn’t meet the obligation. “The agreement wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on,” Scott said.
‘YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH A LOT IN THIS BUSINESS’
Of all those who have dealt with Cullen in recent years, no one knows him better than trainer Denzik, who went to grade school, middle school and high school with Cullen, then roomed with him in college. He trained several horses for Cullen’s Four Board Stable partnership until their relationship went sour a couple of years ago.
“We were best friends,” Denzik told the Paulick Report, “but I haven’t talked to him for a year and a half. He wasn’t paying his bills. He was collecting the money from the people in the partnerships and kept it. I know most of the clients and they were a bunch of good people. He owes me over $20,000. We spent about $10,000 on an attorney, but once I got that bill I said this is ridiculous. We probably lost $30,000, but it may be the best $30,000 I ever lost, just to get him out of my life.”
Denzik, like many of the others who have been involved with Cullen, said he has an engaging personality and is a smooth talker.
“He did some acting when he was younger, and he can pull a different personality out when he needs too,” said Denzik. “When I look at him now and look back I can see he was well prepared to do what he’s been doing. People love him at first. He uses his acting ability, his writing ability and he’s personable…but it’s a bunch of b.s. He steals from people. The big questions we’ve all got is where the money went.
“There was always a little bit of a shady side to him,” Denzik said. “As we’ve gotten older it brought out the crook in him that probably has been in him a long time. He figured out you can get away with a lot in this business. I hope he gets put in jail."
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
Savvy businesses recognize value. Advertise in the Paulick Report.
Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick
Tags: a.p. indy, adena springs, blood-horse, boyd browning, cam horton, cullen bloodstock, dan malory, early season income, emily cowles, fasig-tipton, florence racing, Jack Brothers, jim cullen, john trumbulovich, kevin geiger, know and trust, mike meuser, national city bank, oakland group, old colony insurance, patsy ann, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, sales integrity task force, scott mallory, steve johnson, Terry Finley, texas thoroughbred association, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, thoroughbred times, vincent colbert, west point thoroughbreds, william denzik jr.
November 24th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Never be afraid to report unethical or unlawful actions by an agent. I pursued my case against one for two years and received a judgement against the party. We must stand up as an industry and let it be known that we will not be taken advantage of.
November 24th, 2009 at 9:36 am
So Ray Paulick is now going to take on the sleazy operators in the horse breeding and horse racing business.
That’s a pretty full plate you have set for yourself even though it is Thanksgiving week.
I learned a long time ago who to trust at a horse sale or a horse track. If they were at a horse sale or horse track, you couldn’t trust them.
Ray, you have apparently made your living on an industry in which bloodstock agents, trainers and jockeys routinely cheat, mislead and take advantage of well-intentioned owners and bettors in every way they can imagine. If you don’t know this or see the hypocrisy in your reporting, you are the most naive person in the great commonwealth of Kentucky.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Wow Mainstream, you sound as if there is no more hope, without hope, what do we have?
November 24th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Mainstream, your comment would be offensive if it wasn’t so stupid. The fact that one guy is villainous doesn’t mean everyone is. Plain common sense
I guess that since one commenter on a blog takes pot shots while being too cowardly to use their name, all commenters on blogs are the same? No, I think you win that prize alone.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Ok, well then…thanks to Ray for being apparently the “one” guy sticking it out in a sea of corruption and cheats, trying to change for the better rather than abandoning ship to the “bloodstock agents, trainers and jockeys routinely cheat, mislead and take advantage of well-intentioned owners and bettors in every way they can imagine.” I would think that makes him all the more noble…if that were really the case.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Erin we don’t want to go the path of the Peace Prize just yet, The Paulick Report has alot of work ahead of them before it hits noble status. I have hope though.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:52 am
I think the last line in the article will come true. The Federal government doesn’t take kindly to folks pledging assets that they do not own so they can get loans from federally insured banks. It just takes a while for the shit to hit the fan.
I just went to vist a friend that is doing 6 and 1/2 years in the federal prison camp in Edgefield SC (near Aiken) Wire fraud and mail fraud is what he plead guilty to. What ever you do, Jim, don’t try your line of BS on the feds. It makes judges extra mad.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Is it normal practice for Fasig Tipton and other auction companies to finance horses? Or is this a practice used strictly for racing syndicates?
November 24th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Continue to root them out. Publicly expose them for the scum they are and as a caution to the naive and trusting that pitfalls exist and a thorough background check of “dealers” is imperative. Pursue the purge with a vengeance and ultimately we can have an infinitely cleaner game.
November 24th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Tapit read between the lines you’ll see I was satirizing the overdramatization in Mainstream’s comment. Do I really have to explain this
November 24th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Dang it, they scratched his horse in the second today at Churchill.
November 24th, 2009 at 11:34 am
As an avid horse fan, I am saddened to read that Terry Finley did not comment on his former employer. What about FATE?
November 24th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Same old broken record, playing the same old scratched tune: Cheaters and deadbeats know how to play the system, read a road atlas and find fresh meat for the kill with a ton of help from the apathetic, overwhelmed and slow wheel of justice (plus costs to pursue same).
Until this industry can get an all inclusive National organization, with commissioner with the powers of a god, these crap situations will continue to play out…it’s kinda like the problems associated with pedophiles and the sex offender registries. It only works when everyone is on the up and up, following the same legal roadmap with standards. Yeah, like the bad guys are going to do the “right” thing…please. Same with horse crooks; they just move on molesting wallets and equines at another venue peddling a superb line of manure.
November 24th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Ray/Brad:
Is that a mug shot of Cullen? All that’s missing is the numbers and location of arrest.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Thanks for exposing this despicable crook. If anyone had considered giving Cullen the benefit of doubt, the testimony from his best friend said it all.
Smart businessmen who want to stay in business don’t cheat clients, and I know plenty of trustworthy people in this industry.
“Mainstream” is the truly ignorant and naive one for making such a blanket statement.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I, for one, give kudos to Th Paulick Report for going in depth with this story. No one in this industry has gone this far to uncover a scum bag like this guy. Two weeks ago The TB Times, and Bloodhorse, reported that Mr. Cullen was banned from Fasig-Tipton, and Keeneland, but they did not elaborate on the story. If you go to Keenelands web site you have to really know how and where to look to find out that Mr Cullen is pesona non grata at their place. Not easy for a new comer to find.
So, many thanks to The Paulick Report for bringing this to light.Most of us that work in this industry work very hard, and are honest, but find it discouraging when new people get in the business and get ripped off by shisters like this guy. maybe this can serve as an example to all so called “Agents” with no scruples, beware ! You will be exposed.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
One word: sociopath. Thank goodness for the whistle blowers-if some people had done it sooner maybe so many wouldn’t have been ripped off.
That said, why would someone pay $318,000 for a breeding to AP Indy through this guy when Indy’s stud fee was (then) $150,000? What am I missing?
November 24th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
While I don’t agree at all with Mainstream KY’s attack on the Paulick Report - I remember reading about Jess Jackson’s negative experiences buying horses. It certainly looked like Jackson was in fact cheated - an NYT article quoted Arthur Hancock and cited “breeders and consignors” to the effect that what happened to Jackson was neither surprising nor unusual.
Lucky for Jackson, he had the resources to do his own detective work. At the same time, since the various lawsuits be brought were settled with no admission of wrongdoing from anyone, presumably everyone went back to business as usual when it was all over.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
GOOD REPORTING
I HEARD ABOUT THIS GUY SOME TIME AGO…
ON ANOTHER NOTE: i wonder why most people use USER NAMES instead of their real
names ?????
November 24th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
For the record (I’m specifically addressing comment #14 by Tony):
The Blood-Horse version of this story was a whitewash. It did not say why Cullen was banned. And it included a very debateble statement from Cullen that said “First and foremost, I would like to make it clear that this action has nothing to do with unscrupulous behavior on my part at any sale.”
The TTimes version said he was banned for failure to disclose and pay sales proceeds to clients. T-Times did not include Cullen’s ridiculous statement about his scruples, but it also did not go in any further depth regarding his other transgressions.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
What makes a comment have “awaiting moderation” status. I have been called many things but nevera a moderate
November 24th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Rick
I’m not sure why your comment went into moderation but I have made it public now. Our spam filter sometimes picks up comments that shouldn’t be marked as spam.
Brad Cummings
November 24th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I was thinking it was caused by saying the s word.
November 24th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Ray,
Eugene Levey makes a fair comment.
More and more wild words are being thrown around without attribution. I believe, if anyone wishes to express their views in a forum, they should be willing to stand up and state their identity. How else can we give any value to their opinions?
You have given us access to a forum, but it is not an open forum. It should be.
Anyone unwilling to use his/her legal name should not “have the floor”. If not willing to put your name to it - don’t write it.
November 24th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Eugene Levy:
Why does an industry have to await or be blessed with “warning” from a population of disjointed interests? One would think that in business, the people in charge are maintaining and enforcing high standards. Just an observation…that keeps on playing itself out to the detriment of the humans and horses involved.
November 24th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Great story, Ray. I’m sure there are others in this business just like Cullen.
November 24th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Maybe they should investigate his sales of horse insurance to see if he has been party to any insurance fraud. Maybe some horse deaths have not been natural or accidental. There may be some people who have dealt with him that have something to hide also. I still have trouble believing somebody could accidentally set a trailer on fire while changing a tire and have every horse in it die. I have had horses hauled and normally there is no bedding in the trailer that could burn and only a small amount of hay with the horses in hay nets. One person could get the horses out in just a couple of minutes and there was more than one person. This allegedly happened to yearlings sold at Keeneland September this year.
November 24th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Looks like Chris DiPiero’s twin brother.
November 24th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I got chills when I read that Cullen was also insuring horses. When horse and horse-business owners got into the insurance business it added to danger to horses, conflicts of interest and smell of fraud. However, criminal cases involving animal cruelty tend to nail felons based on fiscal and legal matters, while ignoring their cruelty to animals.
This industry cannot market itself until it finds its moral compass then passes the smell test. It manages to operate above the law and under the Feds’ radar even though it involves animal abuse, human endangerment, gaming fraud and others deceptive and illegal practices. The good guys that stick around seem to become numb to tragedy and debauchery.
The Sales Integrity Task Force rules, while better than nothing don’t go far enough to stop fraud, just like the NTRA Safety and Integrity Accreditation ignores major issues like the destruction caused by the abuse of cortisone IA injections (heck, the NTRA questionaire doesn’t even mention the word cortisone once) so the industry takes the path of least resistance to look like it is trying without creating waves and disrupting business. The set of rules that Jess Jackson proposed to protect buyers at sales were the right ones.
Poster ID:
Whistleblowers can remain anonymous to encourage integrity and avoid or at least minimize retaliation. Racing grand pooh-bahs controlled and censured information until cyber-space blew away their ability to filter everything. Protecting scum attracted more scum.
Poster ID, whether real or fake doesn’t matter. What matters is the free flow of ideas and information to encourage meaningful change and make great strides toward transparency, integrity and last but not least equine welfare and safety.
November 24th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Just jaw dropping what he did. you would think it would be criminal, but its obviously not. He could have stolen a wallet with $5 and gotten a stiffer punishment than he has gotten. How could he operate so long in positions of trust ie. trainer and oh God, an INSURANCE agent, when people were made aware of what he had done and NOBODY took any action? How many horses/owners/bettors were hurt by this lunatic?
Kudos to Ray, contrary to the DRF’s Glenye Oakford, who should have disclosed she worked with Cullen at the Thoroughbred Times. Seems the problem in her story isn’t the indefensible actions of Mr. Cullen, but three guys who chose to not let him get away for once. Nothing like having friends when times get tough, huh?
November 24th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
I bet if I owed Fasig Tipton $1,000 for a horse and didn’t pay for it, they would be all over me. Yet this guy gets away with $100,000? I don’t know, sometimes I wonder why I am even in this business when I read about people like him and all the crap that goes on behind the scenes.
November 25th, 2009 at 12:12 am
MY FIRST SALE WAS THE 1956 KEENELAND SALE WERE I WAS THE UNDERBIDDER ON “LINCOLN ROAD”. .THRU THE TIME “SUNNY JIM” WAS MY MENTOR..IN 1963 I WAS ASSISTANT TO THE GREAT “PRESTON BURCH” THEY BOTH TOLD ME MANY THINGS ASIDE FROM HORSES..THINGS ABOUT THE BUSINESS (PEOPLE)..THEY TOLD ME THAT ALWAYS KNOW WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH.KEEP YOURSELF WITH THE VERY BEST
COMPANY (PEOPLE) YOU CAN FIND & KEEP YOUR HORSES IN THE WORST COMPANY YOU CAN FIND. I NEVER FORGOT THAT. IT SERVED ME WELL ON & OFF THE RACETRACK.
November 25th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Ray and Brad,
Kudos to both of you! The most effective way to rid our industry of thieves and cheaters is to make their exploits known publicly. We don’t need the court system, we need the guys in the white hats to run them out of the industry. The power of the internet gives world wide, public access to everyone interested: the general public, fans, newcomers, owners, breeders, trainers, farms and jockeys and district attorneys, lenders and national news carriers. This takes a lot of COURAGE and is greatly appreciated by all of us who revere the sport and desire to participate with honest, hardworking people who have the horses’ welfare utmost in their minds. You can do this. You have endless knowledge of how this industry works and can use that knowledge since you are no longer harnessed by a publisher beholden to advertising dollars. Your forthrightnous and honesty are what drew me and so many others to your site initially. By continuing, you have the opportunity to have one of the largest readerships in the world of horseracing and breeding.
More importantly, you have the opportunity to change the status quo. When are you going to start wearing a white hat?
November 25th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Mainstream,
I take issue with you calling Mr. Paulick the most naive person in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. At least he is doing something to rid the industry of cheaters.
You seem to believe that everyone involved in racing in KY is corrupt which is obviously not the case. Acceptance of injustice promotes more injustice.
As a non-Kentuckian, what would you do? Eliminate the state’s signature industry? Eliminate the state legislature because of alleged corruption? If you believe the entire state is corrupt, why would would you choose to reside in/do business there? Finally, corruption is world wide. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
To my knowledge, Mars is your best option.
November 25th, 2009 at 11:07 am
“As recently as August of this year, he was a guest speaker at a new owners’ seminar Blood-Horse Publications sponsored in conjunction with the Texas Thoroughbred Association prior to a Fasig-Tipton yearling sale”
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WHY WAS THIS MAN ALLOWED TO REPRESENT THE BREEDING INDUSTRY WHEN HE WAS ALREADY KNOWN TO BE UNETHICAL TO SAY THE LEAST? WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!! IT JUST GOES TO SHOW HOW INCESTUOUS THIS BUSINESS IS AND HOW EVERYONE LOOKS THE OTHER WAY UNTIL SOMEONE SAYS ENOUGH……OBVIOUSLY JESS JACKSON’S EFFORTS WERE OF LITTLE TO NO USE. AND THE FACT THAT THE BLOOHORSE JUST GLOSSES OVER SUCH A NEWSWORTHY STORY…..HEAVEN FORBID WE SCARE AWAY ANY PROSPECTIVE OWNERS!!! ISN’T THERE A LEVEL OF FRAUD OR DECEIT THERE AS WELL? HOW CAN THE BLOODHORSE HAVE ANY CREDIDIBILITY?
Let’s face it…MOST bloodstock agents are unethical when they have the opportunity to be. I know, as I worked for a fair number of them and saw firsthand the way they’d manipulate “ownership”, etc to make money and defraud others inside and outside of the industry. As long as they feel they can get away with it they will. It’s just too tempting. Unfortunately, the bloodstock industry attracts people who are solely interested in money. It’s not about the horses, it’s about how you can make money off the horse, which is fine when you do it ethically.
This industry NEEDS to somehow rein in the the “bloodstock agent” side of it. Everyone knows that fraud and deception is a regular part of this business and what is being done? NOTHING. Seems like the Bloodhorse which is owned by the TOBA has some “splainin” to do in regards to Cullens “speaking engagement” this year. Imagine if some of the prospective owners find out that the industries “representative” provided the BH just happens to be it’s new poster boy for fraud…Oh the irony….
November 25th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Well said LCM! The industry needs to find its moral compass and gather the will to clean itself to offer integrity and top quality in order to earn an excellent reputation otherwise all efforts to attract new owners, corporate sponsors, fans and horseplayers will continue to be for naught.
November 25th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I agree with much of what has been written on this thread.
Many new and naive owners are treated like “fresh meat” by the agents, and most of them aren’t like Jess Jackson. They simply count their losses and get out of the game. Yet many of these agents (some who double as trainers) continue to be revered within the industry, their opinions taken and printed as the gospel. This practice has been so widespread, in fact, that many of the participants seem to have no moral dilemma with their shady dealings.
November 25th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Joe,
This industry can’t find it’s moral compass because it simply doesn’t have one to locate!! That is why nothing is changing and it will not change. It knows no other way of being. It is what it is. Very frustrating and sad for the minority of Thoroughbred owners and breeders that do care, because we’re held hostage by the lack of any real ability to make the changes that are required in order for this “sport” to survive. Just the mere fact the Cullen was given the “honour” of representing the BH at an industry event THIS YEAR….says it all.
Everyone knows that most (agents, trainers) are cheating in one form or another, so it is very hard for anyone to point a finger…The proverbial “throwing stones at glass houses”….there are many glass houses and barns out there
November 25th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Anyone here feels confident or safe insuring anything with Old Colony.
November 25th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Can anyone find out if the owner and consignor of Patsy Anne were ever paid after the filly was bid up to $100K?
November 26th, 2009 at 12:51 am
Green: I may be wrong but I think the sales companies (FT and Keeneland etc) assume the risk of clooecting so the owners of Patsy Anne were paid, and it was up to FT to get the $$$ from Mr. Cullen
November 26th, 2009 at 3:34 am
LCM and others,
Whether you believe it or not, THERE ARE honest and trustworthy agents in this business who really do care about our equine athletes. After my initial encounter with the agent that decided to pad his wallet with an extra five grand from the sale of my broodmare, I was extremely apprehensive about using another agent to assist me in marketing my yearling.
November 26th, 2009 at 3:44 am
Sorry…hit the submit button before finishing my thought…
Anyways, I decided that I really needed to use an agent to market my yearling. I did my research this time around. I must have interviewed a dozen or so candidates before I finally found one that I felt good about. I followed up by speaking with owners and trainers who had done business with her, on both the buying and selling end. To make a long story short, the yearling sold, I highly recommend her, and I am still doing business with her. There are trustworthy agents out there. You just have to do some extra work to find them.
November 26th, 2009 at 4:36 am
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and try to keep in mind that most people are honest and trustworthy. The few that aren’t are the attention-getters that do the harm.
Ray, Brad, and to others that helped out getting the details - and especially to the people who were willing to talk on the record, which is how this stuff gets aired out - thanks!
November 26th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Rick, thank you for the info.
November 26th, 2009 at 9:53 am
This was my first experience with Cullen. I got involved with him because he was pinhooking a yearling that was a half to Lears Princess. Since I owned a piece of the Princess I felt the opportunity would be fun and hopefully profitable. I sent a check for $8500 for a 10% share and she sold for $165000. I am due $16500 and have not recieved a penny despite numerous promises from him. I went to T.O.B.A and then Keeneland and a lawyer. It is nice to see that the little guy gets some help in an industry that unfortunatley has some bad apples in it. Probably will never see my $$$$ but will keep on trying to get it.
November 26th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Brian R. Was this a Matty G weanling? I don’t believe he EVER had any ownership of anything remotely related LP!There are a lot more people with stories like this.Bernie Madoff of the horse world?
November 26th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Brian R, Nice to see that Terry “no comment” Finley advised his investors to stay away from Cullen.
November 26th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Brian, i was offered a piece of that yearling as well and backed out in the last minute - he got me on a bunch of other stuff though. I too will never see my money, but I sleep well at night in knowing Cullen is done in this industry.
November 26th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
did ya’ll read response on his website? It is quite long
November 26th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
You mean the Uniagent Manifesto? I guess its all the fault of the people who he stole from. Out to ruin his good reputation, huh? They should all be so grateful for what he’s done for them. Just seems like a lot of people who got taken and ONE Jim Cullen. He’s like any common criminal, sorry for he got caught, not sorry for the deed. The last paragraph should be in a dictionary under “hypocrisy”
November 26th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
IRON LIEGE I REALLY LIKED THAT NAME> BECAUSE I HAD A LARGE ONE ON HIM
CALUMET HAD THE STRONGEST ENTRY IN GENERAL DUKE & IRON LIEGE FOR THE 1957 KY DERBY BUT THE STRONGEST PART OF THE ENTRY WAS “GENERAL DUKE” & HE WAS SCRATCHED IN THE MORNING…AND IRON LIEGE GOT THE JOB DONE BY WINNING BY A NOSE OVER “GALLANT MAN”..EVERYBODY & THE KITCHEN SINK IS STILL SAYING “SHOE” WAS AT FAULT . YES HE DID STAND UP & MISJUDGE THE FINISH (70 YRD POLE ) BUT HE NEVER BROKE STRIDE..
SOME YEARS AGO IN SARATOGA, SHOE & I WERE WAITING IN FRONT OF THE
SHERATON RENAISSANCE FOR GEORGE STEINBRENNER TO PICK US UP AS “SHOE” & GEORGE WERE GOING TO DRIVE SOME HARNESS HORSES IN SOME EXHIBITION RACES AT SARATOGA RACEWAY THAT NIGHT..WELL GEROGE WAS RUNNING A LITTLE LATE & ALL “SHOE & I TALKED ABOUT WAS “GALLANT MAN” & “IRON LIEGE” “SHOE” SAID THAT “GALLANT MAN” NEVER BROKE STRIDE & NEVER COULD GET BY “IRON LIEGE” IF THEY WENT AROUND AGAIN & HE IS SICK & TIRED OF HEARING ALL THE WHINERS AS THEY WILL NEVER STOP.. AND YES I WAS THERE IN THE “YESTERYEAR”
SOORY IT TOOK SO LONG
November 26th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
I MEANT SORRY
I GOT REAL TIRED WRITING THE ABOVE..SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONE GETS OLD
November 26th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Eugene - great story about you and “Shoe”. I wasn’t born until many years after that Derby but I have seen footage MANY times and I would have to agree with you guys - no way Iron Leige loses.
If Cullen was involved in that race… nevermind… I digress…
November 27th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Hi everybody, it is Thanksgiving Day! I’m enjoying my extra day off, and I am planning to doing something fun that’ll probably involve a bike ride and seeing something new in Trenton I haven’t seen yet.
You write new post at Thanksgiving?