Posts Tagged ‘Barry Weisbord’
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
This rumor, making the rounds for a few weeks, was confirmed in a press release and reported today at Bloodhorse.com: Bradley Weisbord, son of the bloodstock investor/adviser and Thoroughbred Daily News publisher Barry Weisbord, has been named finance and stallion general manager for Ahmed Zayat’s Zayat Stables, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy recently after being sued by Fifth Third Bank.
The elder Weisbord is a shareholder in numerous stallions and is a close associate of Richard Santulli, the former NetJets chairman who has even more substantial bloodstock holdings. Weisbord also served as a trustee in the bankruptcy case involving horseman Tom Gentry nearly 20 years ago.
The question some inquiring minds in the bloodstock world are asking about the appointment of 2007 University of Wisconsin college graduate Bradley Weisbord to such a position of influence at Zayat Stables is whether or not some of Zayat’s bloodstock assets will wind up being bought by Barry Weisbord or Santulli if the bankruptcy results in a full or partial dispersal. But like Roseanne Roseannadanna used to tell Richard Feder of Fort Lee, N.J., on Saturday Night Live, "You sure do ask a lotta stupid questions for a guy from New Jersey."
Read it at bloodhorse.com.
Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think. – Ray Paulick
Tags: ahmed zayat, Barry Weisbord, bradley weisbord, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, richard santulli, tdn, thoroughbred daily news, tom gentry, zayat bankruptcy, zayat stables
Posted in People, Stallions, Thoroughbred Business | 4 Comments »
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
For those of you wondering whether I’d gone into the witness protection program following the announcement of election results for the Breeders’ Cup board of members and trustees (where 10 of those elected were recommended here in an earlier analysis), fear not. As one of my mentors in this business often reminds me, family should be a person’s top priority, and I’ve spent the last couple of days carrying out his advice.
Several things stood out when the results were announced on Tuesday. First, I believe they represent a victory for continuing the trend toward transparency and openness for the organization. There should be no turning back to the days of secrecy with how the industry’s money is being spent at the Breeders’ Cup. Minutes to board meetings should be posted on the Breeders’ Cup web site, information about committees and subcommittees needs to be published, and decisions should no longer be made in a vacuum. I believe the board of directors, which has taken steps in the right direction over the last couple of years, has been put on notice in that regard during this year’s vote by nominators.
Second, I believe the results showed dissatisfaction with the status quo. Two members of the smaller operating board of directors, Don Dizney of Florida and Tracy Farmer, were not re-elected to the larger board of members and trustees. It’s that larger board that decides who to elect for the smaller operating board, and to be a candidate you have to be on the board of members and trustees. Dizney and Farmer will be replaced on the smaller board after having been defeated in the election.
Third, the results show the strength of stallion farms and coalitions, something I wrote about last year. I don’t think any one stallion operation has the votes to elect an individual to the board of members and trustees, but several farms working together can do so. And there was coalition building going on prior to and during this election process.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the leading vote getter among Breeders’ Cup nominees, Richard Santulli, is the same man rejected by a majority of members and trustees voting for the smaller board of directors last year. I wrote then that the members and trustees made a huge mistake in not electing Santulli to the board. He is a man with great energy, enthusiasm for this industry and great business experience that could be put to extraordinarily good use by the Breeders’ Cup. He is chairman of NetJets and often is mentioned as a potential heir apparent to Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffet. Perhaps the “old guard” on the board of members and trustees voted against Santulli because NetJets dropped its Breeders’ Cup sponsorship, or maybe because he is closely associated with Thoroughbred Daily News Publisher Barry Weisbord, who can be a prickly critic of the status quo. It’s also widely believed that Santulli felt the Breeders’ Cup should have sought executive experience from outside of horse racing when current Breeders’ Cup president and CEO Greg Avioli was given the job in 2007. Putting him on the smaller board could add some discomfort to management.
Whatever the reason, the nominators in this election voiced strong disapproval of the vote to keep Santulli off the operating board. Let’s hope he still has the interest in giving his time, energies and insights to the industry and will submit his name for nomination later this month.
There are six open spots on the board of directors, and if dissatisfaction with the status quo and the old guard carries over into that election, we could have a significant change in philosophy on the operating board. As mentioned, the board positions currently held by Tracy Farmer and Donald Dizney are open because they failed to be re-elected to the board of members and trustees. The other four candidates that are up for re-election are Reynolds Bell, Don Robinson (appointed to fill out the remainder of the term held by B. Wayne Hughes, following the decision by Hughes to resign from the board earlier this year), G. Watts Humphrey and Bob Manfuso.
Bell and Humphrey are closely associated with Lane’s End Farm, owned by William S. Farish, the father of current Breeders’ Cup board chairman Bill Farish. For years, Humphrey and the senior Farish were the guiding force of the Breeders’ Cup executive committee, back when the organization practiced limited transparency and operated under the auspices of a self-perpetuating board.
While the old guard from the Jockey Club (Farish is a Jockey Club member, his father-in-law is chairman Ogden Mills (Dinny) Phipps and his father is vice chairman, Humphrey is a longtime member and former steward, and Bell is a member and current steward of the club) did maintain control in the last board election, their grip on power has been weakened. I expect the slate of candidates from opponents of the status quo/old guard to make a concerted effort to defeat Humphrey and Bell in the upcoming election. Sources say Bell, who does extensive bloodstock work for Lane’s End, has been hand-picked by the Farishes to replace Bill Farish as Breeders’ Cup chairman if Farish serves five years, the limit for a chairman under the organization’s current bylaws. He has served three years in that role.
There will be much more here in the coming weeks on the Breeders’ Cup board election, which takes place during a meeting of the newly elected members and trustees on July 9. Candidates seeking a position on the board have until June 30 to state their intention to run.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Barry Weisbord, Bill Farish, bob manfuso, Breeders' Cup, breeders' cup election, Dinny Phipps, Don Robinson, donald dizney, G. Watts Humphrey, Greg Avioli, Jockey Club, lane's end farm, netjets, Ogden Mills Phipps, reynolds bell, richard santulli, tracy farmer, William S. Farish
Posted in Breeders' Cup, Industry Organizations, Jockey Club | 6 Comments »
Sunday, December 14th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
Friday’s Paulick Report article on the increasingly sad state of affairs at Bloodhorse magazine was not easy for me to write, having worked hard to help grow the company over a 15-year period and feeling tremendous sadness that many of my former Bloodhorse colleagues are now without jobs. It’s a very stressful time for those who remain employed there as they deal with changing readership habits, stronger competition and challenging economic circumstances that have brought many traditional print publishers to their knees.
This morning, I was enjoying a cup of tea in preparation for Christmas tree shopping with my daughter when an email of great interest came across my inbox from an old friend at the Bloodhorse. The email’s subject was ‘Bloodhorse (sic) Staff Cut 10%’ penned by company president Stacy Bearse. I didn’t realize how stressful things had gotten until I received this email from the man who hired me as editor in chief of the magazine in 1992 and fired me in 2007. The email, shown below in its entirety, was typed in big, bold face letters:
You wrote a truly shitty column on your alma mater, Crack Pipe. As usual, you got your facts all wrong (Purple Haze?). The more you embarrass yourself with this type of drivel, the more I realize the tragedy of a life and career wasted.
Stacy
Immediately, I checked the email address assuming it must be from a dummy account by an enemy of Stacy trying to frame him. After all, he couldn’t possibly have such terrible judgment as to send me something so vicious and mean-spirited. Alas, it was from sbearse@bloodhorse.com, his business email account.
My first and strongest reaction to these highly personal attacks from him was sadness. When I entered a recovery program in 2004 to deal with a personal issue, one of the spiritual principles I learned was to pray for those who may want to hurt you, in hopes that they can learn to see you in a different light. I’ll say my prayers tonight for Mr. Bearse, who is quite obviously going through a difficult period in his professional tenure at Bloodhorse Publications.
It is also troubling that a man who holds such a prestigious position in our industry would stoop to the level of a sideshow like Ed Musselman, the publisher of the Indian Charlie newsletter. The rants and vicious personal attacks of Indian Charlie are par for the course, but Bearse represents a far more respectable organization and I have always held him to a higher level of accountability.
Earlier this week, Bearse wrote a letter to the Thoroughbred advertising community explaining the company’s current difficulties that led to a $1.5 million budget cut and what he said was termination of 10% of the staff. It was written in a much softer tone than he exhibited with me but one with thinly veiled attacks on the company’s publishing competitors, presumably the Thoroughbred Daily News and Thoroughbred Times, two outfits that so far have weathered the economic storm without having to take the drastic measures that Bloodhorse has.
“First, we never compete with you. Unlike other media properties, we own neither seasons nor shares in stallions that may compete with your business.” This seems to be a reference to the Thoroughbred Daily News, a purely online publication produced by Barry Weisbord, who is an active Thoroughbred owner and breeder. So while this claim may be true, why does it matter? To my knowledge, Weisbord has been completely fair to any and all advertisers and this would explain why they have such a full booking of ads each and every day. Additionally, Bearse several years ago was involved in weanling-to-yearling pinhooking partnerships, so his assertion rings a bit hollow.
But perhaps most confusing is their contention that giving ‘special discounts’ to ‘special people’ on advertising is a bad thing. Assuming this dagger must be intended for the Thoroughbred Times, I still don’t understand the message. Isn’t it a good thing to thank loyal customers by offering them discounts or perks for their consistent business? I believe that’s the psychology behind the personal shopper cards at grocery stores, the reason I get a free bag of dog food after I buy 12 at Feeder’s Supply (it’s for my dog, not me), and how I am about to be named the next U.S. Senator of Illinois by Gov. Rod Blagojevich (the check’s in the mail, Rod!).
The Thoroughbred industry is facing tough times ahead. It’s a competitive business, whether it’s your horse racing against someone else’s or your magazine or web site trying to win advertising support over your rival. The Paulick Report will continue to provide unfiltered coverage on the business in ways that may not always please everyone.
One thing I believe we all can agree to is a wish for the Thoroughbred industry to regain its legs in 2009 and carry us all to a higher plateau.
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Barry Weisbord, blood-horse, bloodhorse magazine, ed musselman, indian charlie, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, stacy bearse, tdn, thoroughbred daily news, thoroughbred times
Posted in People, Racing Media, Ray Paulick, bloodhorse | 46 Comments »
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
(from Keeneland publicity department)
My White Corvette, dam of 2008 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) winner Stardom Bound, brought top price of $825,000 on Wednesday at Keeneland’s November Breeding Stock Sale.
Barry Weisbord signed the ticket, on behalf of celebrity chef Bobby Flay, for the 10-year-old mare by Tarr Road. My White Corvette was not mated in 2008 since her weanling filly by Lion Heart was a May foal. She was consigned by Hunter Valley Farm, agent.
On Wednesday, Keeneland sold 224 horses for gross receipts of $24,698,000, down 42.1 percent from 2007 when 258 horses brought $42,638,000. Average price of $110,259 decreased 33.3 percent from last year’s $165,264. The median price of $82,500 was down 36.5 percent from $130,000 in 2007. The buy-back rate was 28.2%.
Keeneland November Cumulative Prices
First Three Sessions:
2002-08
| Year |
Sold |
Revenue |
Average |
Median |
|
2008
|
523
|
$114,725,000
|
$219,359
|
$125,000
|
|
2007
|
638
|
$221,137,000
|
$346,610
|
$190,000
|
|
2006
|
616
|
$194,352,000
|
$315,506
|
$190,000
|
|
2005
|
633
|
$200,002,000
|
$315,959
|
$200,000
|
|
2004
|
691
|
$202,533,500
|
$293.102
|
$150,000
|
|
2003
|
606
|
$165,541,000
|
$273,170
|
$135,000
|
|
2002
|
613
|
$134,944,000
|
$220,137
|
$110,000
|
Through the first three days, Keeneland has sold a total of 523 horses for $114,725,000, down 48.1 percent from last year’s $221,137,000 when 638 horses sold. The average of $219,359 was down 36.7 percent from $346,610 in 2007, while the median of $125,000 decreased 34.2 percent from last year’s $190,000
“In general, given the state of the world today, it was a very good session,” said Geoffrey Russell, Keeneland’s director of sales. “What is good is that there is active trade here; and active trade with an international feel.”
Woodland Farm, the day’s leading buyer, purchased the session’s second-, third- and fourth-highest priced horses, paying $500,000 for Capeside Lady, in foal to Empire Maker; $385,000 for Sacred Feather, in foal to Giant’s Causeway; and $375,000 for Princess Patricia, in foal to Hard Spun.
Graded stakes winner Capeside Lady, a seven-year-old mare by Cape Town, was consigned by Dapple Stud, agent.
The six-year-old Sacred Feather is by Carson City out of graded stakes winner Marianna’s Girl, and a half-sister to such stakes winners as Marastani, Christine’s Outlaw, and Crimson Classic. Princess Patricia, a five-year-old mare by Aptitude, is a half-sister to recent Emirates Airlines Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) winner Forever Together. Both mares were consigned by Nursery Place, agent.
Keeneland’s November Breeding Stock Sale continues through Monday, November 17. Sessions begin at 10 a.m. daily.
.
Tags: Barry Weisbord, Bobby Flay, breeders' cup juvenile fillies, geoffrey russell, horse auctions, hunter valley farm, Keeneland, keeneland november breeding stock sale, keeneland sale, my white corvette, Paulick Report, stardom bound, Thoroughbred Auctions, Thoroughbred breeding, woodland farm
Posted in Keeneland, Thoroughbred Auctions | Comments Off
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
Phone lines in Central Kentucky have been burning up among the nearly 50 incumbent and newly elected members and trustees of the Breeders’ Cup, who will be responsible for electing seven individuals to the 14 member operating board of directors in Lexington, Ky., on Friday.
Five members of the board — Antony Beck, current board chairman Bill Farish Jr., Terry Finley, R.D. Hubbard and Satish Sanan - are up for re-election, and all five are expected to seek a new two-year term. There are two open positions previously held by Robert Clay and Joseph Shields Jr., who lost re-election bids to the members and trustees board, voting for which was conducted in June among all Breeders’ Cup program nominators. Clay was vice chairman of the Breeders’ Cup board of directors.
John Sikura is the only new name that has surfaced as a "declared" candidate for a board seat, though others will certainly will develop by Friday’s meeting.
In the meantime, numerous phone calls are being made by members of two distinct camps seeking proxies and support in advance of what figures to be a hotly contested election for control of the Breeders’ Cup. In previous elections
Here are the members and trustees listed on the Breeders’ Cup web site or last week’s election results: Josephine Abercrombie, Helen Alexander, John Amerman, Gregory C. Avioli, James E. Bassett III, Antony Beck, Reynolds Bell Jr., Boyd Browning Jr., Doug Cauthen, Alice Chandler, Brownell Combs II, Donald R. Dizney, William S. Farish, William S. Farish Jr., Tracy Farmer, Terrence P. Finley, James E. Friess, Thomas Gaines, Lucy Young Hamilton, L. William Heiligbrodt, R.D. Hubbard, B. Wayne Hughes, G. Watts Humphrey Jr., Roy Jackson, Brereton C. Jones, John T.L. Jones Jr., John T.L. Jones III, Tom Ludt, Wayne G. Lyster III, Robert T. Manfuso, Robert McNair, Clem Murphy, Maria Niarchos-Gouaze, Charles C. Nuckols III, J. Michael O’Farrell Jr., Bill Oppenheim, James A. Philpott Jr., Ogden Mills Phipps, Dan Pride, Don Robinson, Satish K. Sanan, Richard T. Santulli, John G. Sikura, Frank Stronach, Mark Taylor, D.G. Van Clief Jr., Charlotte Weber, Barry Weisbord, and Christopher Young.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Alice Chandler, Antony Beck, b. wayne hughes, Barry Weisbord, Bill Oppenheim, Boyd Browning Jr., Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup board of directors, Brereton C. Jones, Brownell Combs II, Charles C. Nuckols III, Charlotte Weber, Christopher Young, Clem Murphy, D.G. Van Clief Jr., Dan Pride, Don Robinson, Donald R. Dizney, Doug Cauthen, Frank Stronach, g. watts humphrey jr., Gregory C. Avioli, Helen Alexander, J. Michael O'Farrell Jr., James A. Philpott Jr., James E. Bassett III, James E. Friess, John Amerman, John G. Sikura, John T.L. Jones III, John T.L. Jones Jr., Josephine Abercrombie, L. William Heiligbrodt, Lucy Young Hamilton, Maria Niarchos-Gouaze, Mark Taylor, Ogden Mills Phipps, Paulick Report, R.D. Hubbard, Ray Paulick, reynolds bell jr., Richard T. Santulli, Robert McNair, Robert T. Manfuso, Roy Jackson, Satish K. Sanan, Terrence P. Finley, Thomas Gaines, tom ludt, tracy farmer, Wayne G. Lyster III, William S. Farish, William S. Farish Jr.
Posted in Breeders' Cup | Comments Off
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
The startling election results for the Breeders’ Cup board of members and trustees conducted among nominators to the program teaches us one thing about this relatively new process: no single farm or entity can stack the board with its own candidates.
That is driven home by the fact that Robert Clay of Three Chimneys Farms, the current vice chairman of the Breeders’ Cup board of directors (the 14-person board elected by the 48 members and trustees), did not receive enough votes to retain his spot as a member/trustee. It is confirmed again by the election loss of James McAlpine, a longtime Magna executive associated with Frank Stronach, who presumably would have thrown the considerable clout of his Adena Springs Farm behind McAlpine in the Breeders’ Cup election process that Stronach himself helped bring about through reforms in governance several years ago. (Those reforms were detailed in a two part series in the Paulick Report: Part 1, Part 2). In voting conducted during the month of June, Breeders’ Cup nominators received one vote for every $500 they paid in foal or stallion nominations. Stallion farms with the high-end stud fees obviously hold the most votes, since a $100,000 stud fee would give a farm 200 votes in the process. Yet even with a Three Chimneys stallion roster that currently includes $460,000 in annual “published” stud fees (and, thus, 920 votes, theoretically), Clay was unable to secure enough votes to retain his seat on the board of members and trustees.
As a result, Clay, who has served on numerous industry organization boards over the last 25 years, will not be eligible to run for re-election to a two-year term on the 14-member Breeders’ Cup board of directors, the group that makes the key operational decisions for the organization. That election will be held during a meeting of the newly elected board of members and trustees in Lexington July 11. To be eligible to run for the board of directors, an individual must be on the larger board of members and trustees. Just as consensus building is necessary to get federal legislation passed in Congress, individuals seeking seats as Breeders’ Cup members/trustees must build coalitions among different groups of nominators. Clay apparently did not do that; nor did three others seeking re-election on the board of members and trustees: Robert Cromartie, Leverett Miller, and Joseph Shields, Jr.
Elected to the board of members and trustees were Helen Alexander of Middlebrook Farm; Doug Cauthen of WinStar Farm; Bill Farish Jr. of Lane’s End; Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds; Lucy Young Hamilton of Overbrook Farm; Maria Niarchos-Gouaze of Poseidon Services Inc; Charles Nuckols III of Nuckols Farm; Bill Oppenheim, a bloodstock agent who writes for Thoroughbred Daily News; Don Robinson of Winter Quarter Farm; Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Farm; Charlotte Weber of Live Oak Stud; and Barry Weisbord, publisher of Thoroughbred Daily News. Of that group, Alexander, Farish, Young Hamilton, Niarchos-Gouaze, Nuckols, and Taylor were re-elected.
In addition to Clay, Cromartie McAlpine, Miller and Shields, the following nominees to the board of members and trustees did not get enough votes for election: Bobby Flay, Arnold Kirkpatrick, Allan Lavin Jr. and Ric Waldman.
Seven of the 14 board of director seats will be open for nomination during the July 11 election, including the seats that have been held by Clay and Shields, whose terms expire. With their required departure, there will be at least two new members elected. In addition, the two-year terms of Antony Beck, current board chairman Bill Farish Jr., Terry Finley, R.D. Hubbard and Satish Sanan also expire, with each eligible for re-election.
The smaller board of director positions are staggered, and the following six individuals were elected to two-year terms in July 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 may be noteworthy that Clay, Miller and Shields were considered part of the “old guard,” as each are members of the Jockey Club, which for decades has tried to assert control over many industry organizations. Not everyone newly elected or re-elected to the board of members and trustees can be classified as “old guard” or “new guard,” but victories by Doug Cauthen, Bill Oppenheim and Barry Weisbord clearly indicate that efforts were made by nominators with large blocs of vote to inject new blood into the organization that runs the two-day championships scheduled to be held for the next two years during the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting at Santa Anita Park in Southern California.
What new alliances are formed among the newly seated board of members and trustees will determine who is retained, newly elected or rejected from the smaller board. That new board, to be seated in September, will determine whether Bill Farish will remain chairman and will also elect a vice chairman of the board. More importantly, the new board will control the fate of the Breeders’ Cup—at least until the next election.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
Tags: Allan Lavin Jr., Arnold Kirkpatrick, b. wayne hughes, Barry Weisbord, Bill Farish Jr., Bill Oppenheim, Bobby Flay, Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup board of directors, Charles Nuckols III, Charlotte Weber, Don Robinson, donald dizney, Doug Cauthen, Frank Stronach, g. watts humphrey jr., Greg Avioli, Helen Alexander, Joseph Shields Jr., Leverett Miller, Lucy Young Hamilton, Maria Niarchos-Gouaze, Mark Taylor, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, reynolds bell jr., Ric Waldman, Robert Clay, Robert Cromartie, robert manfuso, Terry Finley, tracy farmer
Posted in Breeders' Cup, Industry | Comments Off
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
Robert Clay, the owner of Three Chimneys Farm and vice chairman of the 14-member Breeders’ Cup board of directors, did not receive enough votes from nominators to retain his seat on the organization’s 48-person board of members and trustees, the Paulick Report has learned. In something of a changing of the guard for the Breeders’ Cup, Clay was one of four incumbents on the board of members and trustees who was not re-elected. The others were Robert Cromartie, Leverett Miller and Joseph Shields Jr., the latter also a member of the smaller board of directors.
Voting took place during June, with nominators getting one vote for each $500 spent for foal or stallion nominations. Farms with major stallions or a large number of nominated foals had the largest blocs of votes.
Elected to the board of members and trustees were Helen Alexander, Doug Cauthen, Bill Farish Jr., Terry Finley, Lucy Young Hamilton, Maria Niarchos-Gouaze, Charles Nuckols III, Bill Oppenheim, Don Robinson, Mark Taylor, Charlotte Weber, and Barry Weisbord. Of that group, Alexander, Farish, Young Hamilton, Niarchos-Gouaze, Nuckols, and Taylor were re-elected. Farish, son of Lane’s End owner William S. Farish, is chairman of the Breeders’ Cup board.
The nine nominated for board of members and trustees positions but not receiving enough votes for election were: Clay, Cromartie, Bobby Flay, Arnold Kirkpatrick, Allan Lavin Jr., James McAlpine, Miller, Shields Jr., and Ric Waldman.
The primary purpose of the 48-member board of members and trustees is to elect 13 members to two-year terms on the board of directors (the 14th board seat is filled by Breeders’ Cup CEO Greg Avioli). To be elected or re-elected to the board of directors, an individual must be on the larger board of members and trustees. That group meets in Lexington, Ky., July 11 to elect seven individuals for the open positions on the board of directors. Two of the seven — Clay and Shields — are now ineligible to run. The other five whose terms are expiring and will be eligible for re-election are Antony Beck, Farish, Finley, R.D. Hubbard and Satish Sanan.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
Tags: Allan Lavin Jr., Arnold Kirkpatrick, Barry Weisbord, Bill Farish Jr., Bill Oppenheim, Bobby Flay, Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup board of directors, breeders' cup election, Charles Nuckols III, Charlotte Weber, Don Robinson, Doug Cauthen, Helen Alexander, James McAlpine, Joseph Shields Jr., Leverett Miller, Lucy Young Hamilton, Maria Niarchos-Gouaze, Mark Taylor, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, Ric Waldman, Robert Clay, Robert Cromartie, Terry Finley
Posted in Breeders' Cup, Industry | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
The fight for control of the Breeders’ Cup began in earnest in January 2006, shortly after the organization’s board of directors ratified a change in bylaws that would end its self-perpetuating nature and give anyone who nominates a foal or stallion to the program the opportunity to vote in an annual election.
The battle is ongoing, as witnessed by the 21 candidates seeking 12 positions on the 48-person board of members and trustees. Ballots were recently sent to nominators, who will have the option this year for the first time to vote via a secured web site. Results will be announced in July, after which a meeting of the new board of members and trustees will be held to vote for seven of the 14 positions on the board of directors, the group that makes most of the key operational decisions for the Breeders’ Cup.
Until the 2006 change in governance, the Breeders’ Cup had been tightly controlled by an executive committee consisting of a handful of Jockey Club members who stockpiled approximately $40 million in cash reserves but made precious few changes or enhancements since the championship event’s inaugural running in 1984. Thoroughbred breeders unhappy with the event’s status quo and with the Breeders’ Cup’s expensive alliance with the National Thoroughbred Racing Association saw the change in bylaws as an opportunity to bring in new blood and new ideas to the organization in an effort to stimulate growth and interest. Many from the old guard saw it as a threat to their long-established rule.
It became a classic battle of the new guard vs. the establishment. In some cases it was new money, self-made millionaires, against a wealthy group populated with members of what investment wizard Warren Buffett calls the “lucky sperm club.”
The contrast of the two groups is best exemplified by a pair of New Yorkers who are worlds apart in background but share a passion for Thoroughbred racing: Dinny Phipps and Bobby Flay.
Phipps, chairman of the Jockey Club and born into the wealthiest of old-money New York families, is a current trustee and member of the Breeders’ Cup. Until he was voted off the smaller Breeders’ Cup board of directors last July, Phipps was considered one of the most powerful figures in racing.
Flay, seeking election for the first time as a Breeders’ Cup member and trustee, is a high-school dropout who worked his way up from salad maker at a New York restaurant to become a master chef, restaurateur, television celebrity and highly successful businessman.
Phipps is the leader of the racing establishment’s inner circle that has held control over numerous organizations and initiatives. Flay has close ties to Thoroughbred Daily News Publisher Barry Weisbord, one of the industry’s most progressive thinkers but considered by some in the establishment as a thorn in the side.
The primary role for members of the large board that Flay seeks to join is to elect individuals to serve on the 14-member board of directors. There has been intense lobbying, politicking and deal-making among people seeking positions on that small board, beginning with the first election in January 2006, when two separate slates of candidates were circulated.
One slate was pushed by WinStar Farm’s Bill Casner (also the chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association) and the other by Lane’s End Farm’s Bill Farish, the son of Jockey Club vice chairman Will Farish (the younger Farish is the son-in-law of Phipps). Among other things, Casner’s group was not happy with the Breeders’ Cup operating agreement and relationship with the NTRA and sought more transparency and accountability for the money spent by the Breeders’ Cup on administrative expenses. He and his allies also pushed for the 2006 Breeders’ Cup championship purses to be increased to $20 million.
The Farish slate was victorious, though not overwhelmingly. Six of the board members were establishment figures who were members of the Jockey Club. Farish was elected board chairman and Robert Clay of Three Chimneys Farm as vice chairman. It was Farish’s father who served for many years as chairman of the Breeders’ Cup executive committee that made most of the major decisions for the organization.
Nevertheless, enough critics of the status quo were elected to bring about some of the changes Casner sought. In May 2006, the new Breeders’ Cup board voted to approve $20 million for that year’s championship day purses, and in August the Breeders’ Cup terminated its operating agreement with the NTRA. The new board also reached an agreement with longtime executive D.G. Van Clief Jr. to step down as Breeders’ Cup president. He was replaced by Greg Avioli, an attorney who previously held key positions at the NTRA.
Lobbying, politicking and deal-making has not been limited to the small-board election. Nominators to the Breeders’ Cup program vote for the larger board using a formula of one vote for each $500 they spend on stallion or foal nominations. A farm with $500,000 in annual stud fees gets 1,000 votes, so it quickly became apparent that the largest stallion farms, including Coolmore, Darley, Lane’s End, WinStar, Taylor Made, Three Chimneys, and Gainesway had the most power in electing individuals to the large board of members and trustees. Alliances have been formed among some of the farms to support specific candidates.
Sources said a number of the people elected to the large board have not bothered to attend any of the annual meetings, when members of the smaller board are elected. Instead, they send in proxies to a trusted ally.
According to several board members, Bill Farish has controlled more voting proxies than all of the other members and trustees combined. One current board member (not on this year’s ballot), who spoke on condition of anonymity, was critical of three of the people running for re-election this year: Joseph Shields, Leverett Miller and Maria Niarchos-Gouaze. “I’ve never seen either Joe Shields or Leverett Miller at a meeting,” the board member said. “Frankly, I have no idea who they are, what level of investment they have in the game, why they are on the Breeders’ Cup board of trustees, or why they are running for re-election. Maria Niarchos (Niarchos-Gouaze) is strictly a proxy vote for Bill Farish. Never, to my knowledge, has she been to one meeting in all the years she’s been on the board.”
(For the record, Shields is an investment banker and an owner-breeder who served as co-chairman of the board of the New York Racing Association prior to the federal indictments and bankruptcy proceedings. Miller formerly owned and operated T-Square Stud in Florida, where Shields’ horses have been boarded. Niarchos-Gouaze took over her family’s Thoroughbred operation after the death of her father, Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos. Her horses are boarded at Lane’s End.)
“There is no question that guys like like Lev Miller and Joe Shields are good for votes for the old establishment,” said one of this year’s candidates. “It concerns me that the person with the most muscle tries to stack the board to have their philosophy represented. Doing that loses any free-thinking. How much free or creative thinking can there be if there is just one faction combating another faction.
“There was a lot of politicking last time,” he continued. “The way it’s heavily weighted, the factions know where they have to go to get the votes – the major stallion farms. In the last election, Bill Farish came to me and said here are the candidates I hope you’ll vote for. There’s no slate circulating this time, at least to my knowledge, and I haven’t heard from Bill. Maybe he thinks he’s got it under control and doesn’t need any more votes.”
Following last year’s election of the members and trustees, there was controversy involving Terry Finley, the head of West Point Thoroughbreds. Finley, previously a member of both the small and large boards, did not receive enough votes in the June 2007 election to remain on the large board. It was expected he would have to resign from the smaller board, since membership on the larger board is a requirement.
During the July 2007 meeting of the members and trustees, however, it was decided that Finley could remain on the small board for the duration of his two-year term, which expires this year. In a press release announcing the 2008 member and trustee candidates, the Breeders’ Cup said Finley was running for reelection to the large board—even though he was voted off last year.
Here are the 21 individuals running for the 12 spots on the board of members and trustees:
Helen Alexander–Middlebrook Farm
Doug Cauthen–WinStar Farm
Robert N. Clay–Three Chimneys Farm
Robert Cromartie–Briggs & Cromartie Bloodstock Agency
Bill Farish, Jr.–Lane’s End Farm
Terrence P. Finley–West Point Thoroughbreds, Inc.
Bobby Flay —B Flay Thoroughbreds, Inc.
Lucy Young Hamilton–Overbrook Farm
Arnold Kirkpatrick–Kirkpatrick & Co.
Allan G. Lavin, Jr. –Longfield Farm
James McAlpine–McAlpine Thoroughbreds
Leverett S. Miller –T-Square Stud
Maria Niarchos-Gouaze–Poseidon Services Inc.
Charles Nuckols III–Nuckols Farm
Bill Oppenheim–Bloodstock consultant
Don M. Robinson–Winter Quarter Farm
J.V. Shields, Jr. –Shields & Company
Mark Taylor–Taylor Made Farm
Ric Waldman–Overbrook Farm
Charlotte Weber–Live Oak Stud
Barry Weisbord –Media Vista
Editor’s note: The original version of this article incorrected stated Leverett Miller owns and operates T-Square Stud in Florida. Miller sold the major portion of that farm in December 2006.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
Tags: Barry Weisbord, Bill Casner, Bill Farish, Bobby Flay, Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup board of directors, Breeders' Cup championships, Breeders' Cup members and trustees, D.G. Van Clief, Dinny Phipps, Greg Avioli, Jockey Club, Joseph Shields, Leverett Miller, Lucky Sperm Club, Maria Niarchos-Gouaze, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, old money, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, Robert Clay, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, Warren Buffett, Will Farish, Www.paulickreport.com
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