Posts Tagged ‘Antony Beck’

By Ray Paulick
Antony Beck saw the writing on the wall just before the 2008 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Overstocked breeders were trying to sell mares they no longer wanted or planned to breed, and an economic calamity was reducing demand for their product. Beck worried what might become of so many of the horses entered in the sale that would not find new homes.

So the president of Gainesway Farm in Lexington brought a proposal to Blood-Horse Publications, where he is a member of the board of trustees, to create a free online adoption service that brings existing Thoroughbred owners and potential new owners together. The idea was embraced by Kimberly Brown, editor of The Horse magazine, a Blood-Horse Publications owned, all-breeds horse health monthly with a popular website. The bulletin board service was launched at www.thehorse.com in November 2008. Cost of development was underwritten by Gainesway Farm as sponsor (click here to see the list of Thoroughbreds available).  Earlier this year, a second section sponsored by the United States Trotting Association was added for Standardbred horses (click here to see the list of those horses).

“I started getting very concerned about the RNAs (reserve not attained) that might end up being butchered,” Beck told the Paulick Report. “I can’t persuade myself to believe that slaughter is the best way to reduce the horse population. Emotionally, it’s an offense to me to have a horse slaughtered.”

“I understand completely that many breeders are in a terrible financial situation right now,” he said. “No one wants to abandon a horse, but I’m afraid that’s the plight many of them face.”

The horse adoption listings are not just for retired or pensioned broodmares. Many are geldings that have been used in various disciplines who may have owners that can no longer afford them. The listings include the name, age, sex, color and location of the horse, along with a brief description of its background, characteristics or physical condition. The lists can be sorted by several categories, including location. Interested parties can contact the horse owners directly.

To date, 229 Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds have been adopted out as a result of the service. (Click here for “success stories.”)

Beck said one of the challenges is getting people from outside the Thoroughbred community to learn about the adoption service and the number of horses that are available.
 
“I’ve been told by many people that other disciplines really like Thoroughbreds, and this service gives those horsemen and women a chance to adopt a Thoroughbred at little or no cost,” he said.

Responsible horse owners need to be vigilant about who may be adopting their horse and whether they have any ulterior motives, such as bringing the new adoptees to a sale where horses are sold for slaughter. The Horse website has several articles that offer guidance on how to avoid that type of situation.

“I haven’t heard of anyone (being scammed),” Beck said, “but people do need to be aware. So far, we’ve had over 200 horses saved and in the hands of new owners. I’m very happy about that, but I hope we can do much more. It really is a matter of making people outside of the Thoroughbred world aware that these horses are available.”

ON A PERSONAL NOTE: Publishing is a very competitive business, and few publications like to acknowledge the existence of their competitors, much less drive traffic to their websites. Though the adoption service is hosted at The Horse magazine’s website, it shouldn’t stop popular all-breeds magazines like Equus, Horse Illustrated, Horse and Rider and Western Horseman from publicizing its existence. Those magazines and websites reach hundreds of thousands of horse owners who should be made aware of these free adoptions.

It is a service to the animal that is responsible for our livelihoods—the horse.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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Liberation Farm celebrates the many horsemen and horsewomen who strive each day to make things better for horses and those who work with them.  To learn more about Liberation Farm, click here.

By Ray Paulick

While the Breeders’ Cup board of directors acted swiftly to reverse last week’s suspension of the $6-million stakes supplement program for 2009, somewhat overlooked in the swirl of controversy was the organization’s loss of $11 million in the stock market this year. Breeders’ Cup president and CEO Greg Avioli said the losses were not as severe as those suffered by endowments and funds related to other industries (i.e., the Harvard and Yale endowments have lost billions), but some Thoroughbred breeders are questioning why so much of the money from foal and stallion nominations and other revenue was tied up in a volatile equities market in the first place.

The losses, first reported by the Paulick Report on Monday, have dropped Breeders’ Cup cash reserves from $40 million to less than $30 million. The board of directors originally had voted unanimously not to use those cash reserves to plug any of the projected $10-million revenue hole in the 2009 budget, a move that led to the brief suspension of the stakes supplements as well as deep cuts in the marketing and television budget. 

Avioli said the market losses, which exceeded the size of the budgeted deficit for 2009, were unrelated to the board’s original decision.However, an examination of the Breeders’ Cup 2007 annual report shows $2.7 million of unrealized and realized gains on investments were reported as revenue. Total revenue for the year was $56.5 million against expenses of $56.3 million. Without that $2.7 million capital gains reported as income, it appears the Breeders’ Cup would have had an operating deficit of $2.5 million in 2007. It’s unclear to me what becomes of the reported income, now that potential “paper gains” in the equities market have been wiped out in the tumultuous economic climate of 2008. It will also be interesting to examine the 2008 financials to see whether unrealized or realized gains in stock holdings exist or are reported as revenue.

The 2009 operating budget before last week’s cuts were announced was projected to be down $10 million, from $50 million to $40 million. Critics have complained the company should have first undergone more corporate belt tightening (which it has been doing since 2006, when Avioli replaced D.G. Van Clief Jr. as CEO) before cutting out the stakes supplements and marketing expenses. 

The supplements have been part of the Breeders’ Cup program since its inaugural year in 1984, when $10 million was put into championship purses and $10 million into other stakes. That was done to give the Breeders’ Cup broad appeal to potential nominators across the country, and the supplemental money was dispersed at both large and small racetracks. 

In his statement about the decision to use cash reserves to reinstate some portion of the stakes supplements in 2009, Breeders’ Cup board chairman said the board is “not in a position to commit to the stakes program beyond 2009.” The Breeders’ Cup board and executive team have discussed elimination of the stakes supplements in recent years, citing research that shows the money has not been a great incentive for breeders to nominate their foals. 

Farish also said in his statement that “the Board still believes, as I do personally, that it’s critical to maintain sufficient reserves to allow for the long-term viability of the Breeders’ Cup.”   Avioli said the cash reserves are viewed by the board as a catastrophic fund in the event the Breeders’ Cup is canceled because of unforeseen circumstances (equine disease outbreak, fire, earthquake or other disaster) or a multi-year financial crisis. Business interruption insurance would cover a great deal of any potential losses if the event had to be cancelled – in which case the current $25.5 million in championship purses would not have to be distributed. 

The odds against holding the event, which can be moved from one venue to another in the event of a crisis, would appear to be slim. The Kentucky Derby has been run continuously since 1875 despite two World Wars and the great flood of 1937 that covered much of Churchill Downs.

IRS Form 990 for the Breeders’ Cup shows $28.3 million in stocks and bonds holdings in 2006 with another $7.8 million in U.S. treasuries and $2.5 million in Breeders’ Cup properties (the 2007 Form 990 is not yet available). Earlier this year, the Paulick Report has been told, members of the Breeders’ Cup board and its Investment Committee were urged by at least two individuals on the larger board of members and trustees not to keep such a high percentage of the organization’s reserves in the equities market. The Investment Committee, chaired by G. Watts Humphrey Jr. (its other members are Farish, Antony Beck, Donald Dizney, Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps, Joseph Shields, and Satish Sanan, who recently was appointed), opted to keep a substantial part of the assets in stocks. By year’s end, the assets have fallen sharply. 

A number of breeders told the Paulick Report the money should never have been invested in the market because they view the Breeders’ Cup as a pass-through organization. “It’s our money,” one breeder said. “I didn’t pay $500 to nominate my foal so the Breeders’ Cup could buy stock in Coca-Cola. An emergency fund should be kept, but the rest of the money should go into purses.” 

Cash reserves were an important part of the program 25 years ago, one founding member of the Breeders’ Cup said, because putting together and keeping a coalition of stallion farms was not an easy task, and there was the threat that if one or two major farms pulled out it could cause the whole concept to collapse. Keeping enough reserves to fund the program for a full year was considered a strategic defense against any boycott. 

The coalition has held together, however, despite some bumps in the road along the way. The Breeders’ Cup has expanded from the $10 million championship day of seven races to a two-day event worth $25.5 million. The stakes supplement program has been reduced several times over the years from its original $10-million budget, and it now appears to be in jeopardy beyond 2009. 

Farish said in his statement the board is looking at other ways to provide benefits to nominators of the program, though gave no further specifics. One benefit would be to continue to do what the board has done in the last five days: listen to those who support the program through their stallion and foal nominations. Beyond that, the board should provide greater transparency and disclosure about financial matters, committee appointments and board activities. The production of a 2007 annual report, something that had not been done in the early years of the Breeders’ Cup, was a good first step. 

The Breeders’ Cup is designed to promote Thoroughbred racing and enhance public awareness of the entire industry. But it should always be remembered that the foundation and single biggest stakeholders remain the breeders who have financially supported the program since it was nothing more than a vision in the creative mind of the late John Gaines.   

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report  

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By Ray Paulick

Last week’s decision by the Breeders’ Cup board of directors to suspend the program that put $6 million in purse enhancements into stakes races around the country in 2008 has brought an angry outcry from breeders who nominate their foals and stallions to the Breeders’ Cup in part because of the incentive created by that money. Some are saying they feel betrayed by the board and want a refund on their nominations because the decision was announced after the foal nominations deadline. Others are suggesting the move will cause some breeders to stop nominating stallions and foals in the future. 

A press release issued late Friday said the stakes program has been suspended for 2009 and other cost-cutting measures have been adopted due to “anticipated losses in nominations revenue because of recent trends in the bloodstock market and decreased revenue related to the worldwide economic downturn.” 

Breeders’ Cup president and CEO Greg Avioli told the Paulick Report on Sunday that a $10-million decline in revenues is anticipated: $4 million less in stallion and foal nominations compared with 2008; $3 million less in sponsorship money; and $3 million less in revenue from the two-day world championships, which are scheduled to return to Santa Anita Park in Southern California Nov. 6-7. 

Purses for the world championships will remain at their 2008 level of $25.5 million. The board’s vote on the various budget actions at its Dec. 11 meeting was unanimous, Avioli said. 

The Breeders’ Cup press release failed to disclose that the non-profit organization has lost approximately $11 million in the stock market this year and that its cash reserves have declined by more than 25%, from $40 million at the beginning of 2008 to less than $30 million today. 

Even with those losses, some breeders believe the cash reserves, which many of them view as an “emergency fund” created from their nominations money, should have been used to make up the projected 2009 budget shortfall as an alternative to elimination of the $6 million from the stakes program. Avioli said the board did not want to budget a deficit for 2009 and would not dip into cash reserves to pay operating costs. 

“The projections are for us to go from $50 million to $40 million in revenues,” he said. “That’s what the board was faced with, and it was a simple choice for 2009, once they determined we would not operate at a deficit: reduce championship purses or suspend the stakes program.” 

To help meet the budget reductions, Avioli said, marketing costs for the “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series have been cut from $6 million to $2 million. “That means no national media this year,” he said, “no inserts in major publications. We eliminated all the mid-year ABC telecasts and we are down to two shows on ESPN in the fall, four and five weeks out from the championships. That saved us $500,000.” 

The changes caught many people by surprise, including numerous members of the 48-person Breeders’ Cup board of members and trustees contacted by the Paulick Report. The members and trustees have no specific power other than to elect the 13 members of the Breeders’ Cup board of directors, but some of them feel the smaller operating board should at least consult or poll them on issues as important as the decision to suspend the stakes program. 

STAKES PROGRAM A REASON TO NOMINATE 

“Nobody called me, nobody said a word to me, and there was no discussion about this,” one member/trustee said. “This stakes program is one of the reasons people nominate. The purse supplements give breeders, especially those outside of Kentucky, an incentive to participate. Without this program, many of them will stop nominating their foals and stallions.” 

Another member/trustee who is based outside of Kentucky concurred. “There are a lot of breeders in my state with 40 or 50 foals a year who pick out the 10 best ones and nominate them,” he said, “not because they think they can win one of the big races but because of these smaller Breeders’ Cup stakes around the country. It’s the only reason they nominate.” 

Minnesota-based breeder David Miller wrote the Paulick Report, saying: “As a regional breeder who has nominated his foals for the last few years, these supplements were my only chance to realistically recoup the investment. What is my recourse? The money is paid in and after re-reading the nominations terms, it appears the Breeders’ Cup will be making no refunds under any circumstances.” 

Avioli disagrees that the stakes program has played a major role in nominations. “We’ve done qualitative and quantitative research and we never got results back that the stakes program was the driving reason people nominated,” he said. “The two reasons that came out in research is the opportunity to have a horse be eligible for the championship days and the perceived increased value at sales for Breeders’ Cup nominated horses. This is not something we took lightly when we removed it, and I can’t tell you it’s not going to be restored in the future.”

Kentucky-based breeder Tom Evans, who operates Trackside Farm, made the following comment about the suspension of the program: “As a breeder who annually contributes funding for the Breeders’ Cup, I would appreciate the financial detail as to why the Breeders’ Cup needs to suspend nearly $6 million in co-funding for 2009 stakes races throughout the country. The catch phrase ‘challenging economic environment’ lacks the detail that supporters of the program deserve. And, since the Breeders’ Cup finds it necessary to suspend funding, what measures have they taken to cut costs in other areas such as corporate overhead and executive compensation?”

Avioli — whose compensation package was $517,965 plus another $248,175 in employee benefits in 2006 (the most recent year the Breeders’ Cup IRS Form 990 is available) – said the organization eliminated five full-time positions in the last year and will cut one additional job by the end of 2008. “Our total (2009) compensation budget is basically flat with 2008,” he said. The Breeders’ Cup 2007 annual report showed $3.6 million spent on personnel costs (2008 figures are not available). It is paying $266,160 in 2008 and 2009 to former CEO D.G. Van Clief Jr. as part of an $890,000 severance package he received when he stepped down in 2006. 

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE CASH RESERVES? 

John Sikura, of Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Kentucky, a member/trustee who unsuccessfully sought a seat on the operating board earlier this year, has been an outspoken critic of the Breeders’ Cup board’s handling of its cash reserves. Sikura doesn’t understand why the reserves are not being used to cover anticipated shortfalls in 2009 to keep the stakes program intact. 

“Those reserves are there for times of emergency,” Sikura said. “This is certainly one of those times. They should have funded the program, at the very least through 2009, because people have made reliances on this stakes program, and to have the rug pulled out from under them is wrong. These programs are not secondary to the racetracks or to the people who own horses.” 

Avioli claims the reserves are there to “protect against catastrophic occurrences that would cause cancellation of the championship event” – such as the kind of equine disease outbreak that shut down Australian racing last year or an earthquake or other natural disaster. Business interruption insurance would cover some, but not all, of a catastrophic event, Avioli said. 

“Second, like any organization, you have reserves so that you have security that the organization will continue if unforeseen circumstances arise,” he said. “Say this economy stays down for four or five years and nominations don’t come close to former levels. If you don’t have reserves, what are you doing to do? The question is, what’s the level of the reserves that need to be maintained, and that’s a function of the board of directors.” 

Some believe the board has built its cash reserve fund as a defense against the possibility of a boycott by stallion farms or syndicates that could grow unhappy with the direction of the Breeders’ Cup and stop nominating. 

The cash reserves are overseen by an Investment Committee chaired by G. Watts Humphrey Jr., a board member who for many years served on the Breeders’ Cup Executive Committee with William S. Farish prior to the 2006 changes in governance that brought some semblance of democracy to the organization. Farish’s son, Bill, has served as chairman of the board since 2006. 

The other members of the Investment Committee are Antony Beck, Donald Dizney, Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps, Joseph Shields, and recent appointee Satish Sanan. As board chairman, Bill Farish is automatically on every Breeders’ Cup committee, Avioli said. 

Phipps was voted off the board of directors in 2007 and Shields was voted off the board of members and trustees earlier this year. As chairman, Humphrey is authorized to invite anyone he wants, and he appointed Shields and Phipps to the committee. The cash reserves are entrusted to three or four different financial advisers. Contrary to rumors, Phipps’ Bessemer Trust is not one of the groups handling the Breeders’ Cup cash reserves, according to Avioli. 

Critics of the Investment Committee complained that scheduled meetings have been cancelled or postponed this year as the cash reserve fund was battered by market volatility and the global financial crisis that hit in September.”Farish and Humphrey do what they want,” one member/trustee told the Paulick Report. 

Another member/trustee said the cash reserves should not be looked upon as an emergency or catastrophic fund if a large percentage of it is invested in the stock market. “That’s a long-term investment strategy,” he said, “so it makes no sense to call it an emergency fund if it’s in equities.” 

Avioli defended the board’s handling of the cash reserves, even though the Paulick Report learned that at last week’s board meeting the Investment Committee indicated it was likely going to “get out of the equities.” 

“Should the money have ever been invested in the stock market?” Avioli said. “If you say ‘no,’ we wouldn’t have had the $40 million to begin with. If you accept that it was in the market and want to see how it was managed in the last 18 months, I’d say it’s done reasonably well compared with other industries. It’s down from $40 million to $30 million, but given these markets that’s not atrocious.” 

“I’ll bet a lot of the members and trustees don’t even know there is an Investment Committee,” one member/trustee said when learning of the $10-million-plus in losses. “It’s all part of the cloak and dagger secrecy that some of the people still engage in, even after we went through this new process of electing the board. People like the guys who run this committee do whatever they want with it. They can make all the bad decisions and they don’t think they have to be held accountable.” 

Another commented: “There is an unrecognized aristocracy in the United States, and these guys think they are part of the First Family.” 

Sikura is disappointed at the message the Breeders’ Cup board’s decision sends out to the industry. “In times like these, people are looking for some reassurance in the business from some of the industry foundations,” he said. “By taking this action, the Breeders’ Cup board failed to provide that reassurance.” 

Do you have an opinion on the Breeders’ Cup board’s decision to not use some of its $30 million in cash reserves to make up a projected budget shortfall and instead eliminate the $6 million in purse supplements to the Breeders’ Cup Stakes Program? Take the Daily Paulick Poll on the left-hand column of the Paulick Report homepage or leave your comments in the space provided below.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report  

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On the surface, it seems unfathomable that the 40-some members and trustees, founding members and officers of the Breeders’ Cup who select the organization’s operating board of directors could have rejected Richard Santulli, whose business acumen is such that he is on the short list of candidates to succeed Warren Buffett, the “oracle of Omaha,” as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. But that’s what they did on Friday, when the group voted to fill seven positions on the 14-member board. Neither Santulli, a New Jersey-based Thoroughbred owner and breeder, or Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm owner John Sikura received enough votes to secure a board seat.

The members and trustees re-elected all five of the candidates who sought re-election to two-year terms: Breeders’ Cup board chairman Bill Farish of Lane’s End Farm, Antony Beck of Gainesway Farm, Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds, racetrack and casino owner R.D. Hubbard, and Satish Sanan of Padua Stables. Two open seats, made possible when board members Robert Clay and Joseph Shields Jr. were voted off the board of members and trustees by Breeders’ Cup nominators, were filled by Helen Alexander of Middlebrook Farm and Roy Jackson of Lael Stables.
Those seven are joined on the Breeders’ Cup board by the following individuals who were elected to two-year terms in 2007: Reynolds Bell Jr., Donald Dizney, Tracy Farmer, B. Wayne Hughes, G. Watts Humphrey Jr., and Robert Manfuso. The 14th board position is filled by the Breeders’ Cup CEO, Greg Avioli.

It is widely believed that the xenophobic duo of Farish and his father, Will, the vice chairman of the Jockey Club, lobbied heavily with the members and trustees to keep Santulli and Sikura off the board. Ironically, Santulli has been a client of Lane’s End, keeping mares at the Versailles, Ky., farm. Both Santulli and Sikura have been outspoken in their criticism of various aspects of the Breeders’ Cup in recent years. NetJets, the company Santulli founded and which is now part of the Berkshire Hathaway empire, was a Breeders’ Cup sponsor for several years but did not renew its sponsorship in 2008.
New Jersey-based Thoroughbred Daily News publisher Barry Weisbord, a close associate of Santulli, is believed to have lobbied to get Santulli elected. In addition, a number of Kentucky-based members and trustees pushed for the election of Sikura.

Simply put, Farish had the most juice in this election, and sources say it wasn’t even close.

The two new board members, Alexander and Jackson, represent old money. Alexander is an heir to the massive King Ranch, which raced 1946 Triple Crown winner Assault. She is widely respected for her independence and toughness, and support for her candidacy likely reached across the various factions.

Jackson, an heir to the Standard Oil fortune through his grandfather, William D. Rockefeller, is best known as the owner-breeder with wife Gretchen of Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner whose injury in the Preakness and unsuccessful battle to survive was a closely followed national drama two years ago. Having the conservative and low-keyed Jackson seek election was a stroke of genius by whoever convinced him to run. He and his wife, along with trainer Michael Matz, jockey Edgar Prado and veterinary surgeon Dean Richardson, were the human elements in the Barbaro story, and the Jacksons received plaudits from all corners for their handling of the horse’s post-Preakness struggles.

I’ve never heard anyone compare Jackson’s business experience with that of Richard Santulli, or his knowledge of the horse industry with John Sikura. But he is without enemies in the business and doesn’t make waves: a sure-fire qualification for an endorsement from the Farishes.

The respect for Alexander and the affection for Jackson notwithstanding, the rejection of a highly successful businessman like Santulli is mind-boggling. If he is good enough to be a candidate to run Berkshire Hathaway, it’s almost comical to think he would not be an asset on the Breeders’ Cup board.

The only conclusion I can make is that the most influential board members, led by Bill and Will Farish, are interested only in maintaining power by preventing individuals with different points of view from getting elected.

“Billionaires run the industry,” one horseman said to me after the election. “The only way to beat them is on the racetrack.” 

By Ray Paulick

Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report

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