Posts Tagged ‘paraneck stable’
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
UPDATED FRIDAY, 3 P.M.
The two horses mentioned in the story below have been scratched. Click here for details.
Two horses that previously raced for the Paraneck Stable managed by Ernie Paragallo, who was recently charged with 22 criminal counts of animal cruelty at his Center Brook Farm in upstate New York, have been entered to race at Delaware Park on Monday under the name Nob Hill Stable.
Paragallo and Paraneck Stable are being investigated by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board (SRWB) and its horses are banned from racing at New York Racing Association tracks until a new authorized agent is named to run the stable. Paraneck is listed with the SRWB as being owned by Jennifer and Kristin Paragallo, Ernie Paragallo’s daughters. Paragallo had his owner’s license revoked by the SRWB in 2005 because of financial irresponsibility but he was allowed to retain a license as authorized agent to the stable. NYRA is insisting Paraneck retain a new agent who is not related to the Paragallos in any way or has been an employee of the operation. Paraneck has been a leading owner at New York tracks for more than a decade.
The Paulick Report has learned that Robert Savitsky, a Melville, N.Y., attorney, has applied with the SRWB to be the authorized agent for Nob Hill Stable.
John Wayne, executive director of the Delaware Racing Commission, said there is “100% reciprocity” in Delaware regarding the New York ban on Paraneck horses and said his office is currently investigating whether or not NYRA’s requirements have been met.
Wayne said he began looking into the matter Wednesday when he first saw the entries for Monday’s racing program at Delaware Park. The Nob Hill Stable name listed as owner of the two horses, Another Hades and Pink Viper, is spelled differently than the Knob Hill Stable founded by the late Steve Stavro of Canada. Kristin and Jennifer Paragallo are listed as owners of Nob Hill Stable. Paraneck’s private trainer, John P. Campo Jr., is listed as trainer. (Note: Daily Racing Form past performances spell the owner’s name Knob Hill Stable.)
“Before anyone would be permitted to race horses whose connections have had a previous problem," Wayne said, "the owner and trainer in their application would have to file a sworn statement saying that they have no connection with the former connections of the horse. Those statements have to be notarized and signed under a threat of perjury. Once that affidavit comes back to me, I’ll review it and have it looked at by an investigator.”
Wayne said it was his understanding that no new authorized agent has been approved for Paraneck in New York. “As far as I know, there’s an application filed with the (New York) wagering board and I don’t think that process has been completed.”
"An application has been filed which has not been acted on," SRWB spokesman Joseph Mahoney said, though he would not confirm Savitsky as the applicant. "It is being reviewed. We have a subpoena out for certain records involving the financial affairs of Mr. Paragallo, Center Brook Farm, and Paraneck Stable, trying to find out if he was the actual owner of the horses when he was only licensed as an authorized agent. We are also looking at questions involving what the daughters’ role has been with Paraneck. It is an intensive investigation. But we have certainly not acted on the application or approved it."
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Tags: another hades, center brook farm, delaware park, delaware racing commission, ernie paragallo, jennifer paragallo, john campo, john wayne, knob hill stable, kristin paragallo, New York Racing Association, new york state racing and wagering board, nob hill stable, nyra, paraneck stable, pink viper, swrb
Posted in Horse Welfare, Regulatory Issues | 27 Comments »
Monday, April 13th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
When launching the Paulick Report last June, I promised readers that we would provide unvarnished coverage of the Thoroughbred industry, reporting on the large reservoir of news left uncovered by the trade magazines and breaking stories other publications avoid. And I believe the fact traffic on the site has more than doubled in less than a year shows this promise has at least somewhat been fulfilled.
I received call at the time of our launch from a Central Kentucky breeder who wields a great deal of clout in both industry leadership positions and advertising decisions. “Good,” he said about the philosophy behind the Paulick Report. “It’s about time. I think the Thoroughbred media is in part to blame for the mess we’re in. It’s been too afraid to cover the tough issues.”
That comment stung, since he was saying that for the 15 years I was at Bloodhorse magazine I was part of the problem. As the editor of a publication owned by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and controlled by an old-guard board of trustees dominated by Jockey Club members, I had to pick my spots carefully when I felt the industry’s feathers needed ruffling. Criticism of the TOBA’s Graded Stakes Committee and calls for more transparency at Thoroughbred auctions didn’t go over real well. “You’re turning the magazine into the National Enquirer,” one Bloodhorse board member said to me after I wrote an editorial questioning the integrity of the auction process. “How are we ever going to get new people interested in buying our horses if you keep printing negative things?”
“Maybe if the auction process is cleaned up and more transparent, people will have increased confidence that it’s a fair marketplace,” was my naïve response.
I came away from that conversation convinced this particular individual wasn’t enamored with the idea of a free press, no matter what the U.S. Constitution says. Great guy to have on the board of trustees for a magazine.
I thought of that board member last week when the industry was awash in bad news on several fronts and Bloodhorse.com was putting a happy face on every story.
– Quality Road, the winner of the Florida Derby, was being treated for a quarter crack, something his trainer, Jimmy Jerkens, said is “always serious.” The Bloodhorse headline read: “Quality Road Quarter Crack Not Serious.”
– Trainer Jeff Mullins was allegedly seen by security personnel treating Gato Go Win with a prohibited substance in Aqueduct’s detention barn in a stakes race on the undercard of the Wood Memorial, a race won by the Mullins-trained I Want Revenge. Kudos to Throughbred Times for breaking the story. But California horsemen and fans familiar with Mullins’ history could only shake their heads when Bloodhorse.com ran a headline that said, “Mullins: NY Incident Honest Mistake.” To put an even happier face on the subject, Bloodhorse.com then ran a commentary under the headline: “Lets Look on the Bright Side of Mullins Incident.” If that wasn’t enough, Bloodhorse.com ran a third article saying: “Owner Not Angry With Mullins.” I’m sure that was reassuring to horseplayers.
– Undernourished and lice-infested horses owned by owner-breeder Ernie Paragallo were found at a New York livestock auction’s kill pen, and allegations of malnourishment of dozens more were first reported in the Paulick Report and by Joe Drape in the New York Times on April 3. Yet it wasn’t until four days later that the first staff-written account of the deplorable situation made its way onto Bloodhorse.com, and that story was mostly generated by press releases from the New York State Racing and Wagering Board and Jockey Club. ThoroughbredTimes.com did no better on this one, writing its first story on the Paragallo investigation that same day, well after the story had been picked up by other mainstream publications.
(To be fair, Daily Racing Form’s Matt Hegarty wrote an outstanding and balanced article on the issue of horse slaughter, spurred on by the Paragallo investigation.)
Was the hesitation on the part of both Bloodhorse and Thoroughbred Times due to the fact that Paragallo is co-owner of Unbridled’s Song, who stands at stud in Kentucky at Taylor Made Farm, a major advertiser with both publications?
I can speak from personal experience that fear of advertising repercussions by bean-counting publishers is at the heart of some editorial decisions at horse industry trade publications. There is a fear by these publishers, unwarranted in my opinion, that advertisers are not interested in reading the truth about their industry.
I think a majority of the advertisers are more like the breeder who called when I launched the Paulick Report and encouraged me to be tough, honest and fair in what I write. They understand that without a strong and independent press, we will continue to sweep our problems under the rug, something this industry can ill afford.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: bloodhorse, daily racing form, ernie paragallo, gato go win, I Want Revenge, jeff mullins, jimmy jerkens, Jockey Club, matt hegarty, new york state racing and wagering board, paraneck stable, Paulick Report, Quality Road, Ray Paulick, thoroughbred media, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, thoroughbred times, TOBA, trade magazines, trade press
Posted in Racing Media | 59 Comments »
Friday, April 10th, 2009
UPDATED 11 P.M.
Ernie Paragallo remained in jail awaiting The Paulick Report has learned that Ernie Paragallo is facing 22 counts of animal cruelty in connection with the poor condition of the Thoroughbred horses at his Center Brook Farm in Climax, N.Y., discovered when state police and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals raided the farm on Wednesday. The Paulick Report first reported April 3 that several undernourished horses with lice and open wounds owned by Paragallo were rescued from a New York livestock auction in March.
He is being arraigned later this afternoon at the Coxsackie Town Court in Coxsackie, N.Y. According to published reports, Paragallo could face up to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail for each count.
According to the New York Daily News, Paragallo had not made bail as of 9:40 p.m. However, the New York State Police told the Paulick Report at 10:45 p.m. that Paragallo had been released on bail sometime in the last hour.
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Tags: animal cruelty, center brook farm, coxsackie town court, ernie paragallo, paraneck, paraneck stable, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick
Posted in Horse Welfare, ernie paragallo | 41 Comments »
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
Something is rotten in the state of New York, and it involves the licensing of Thoroughbred owners.
Back in July of 2005, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, which oversees licensing and the rules and regulations of pari-mutuel racing in the Empire State, revoked the owner’s license of Ernie Paragallo for financial irresponsibility. The wealthy New Yorker who in 1996 raced the Kentucky Derby favorite and now leading stallion Unbridled’s Song owed money (reportedly $18,000) to the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton equine hospital, apparently for veterinary work done on one or more of his Thoroughbreds.
But that ruling didn’t appear to slow Paragallo down, whose horses race in the name of Paraneck Stable. Paragallo’s daughters, Jennifer and Kristen, are licensed in New York as the “owners” of Paraneck Stable, which is among the leading owners in New York. Ernie Paragallo is licensed by the SRWB as an “authorized agent.” When I spoke with Paragallo last week about the mares from his Center Brook Farm that were found in a lice infested and malnourished condition at a New York livestock auction’s kill pen, he said he “runs” the stable as an employee of his daughters.
Why, then, does the New York Racing Association’s media guide list Ernie Paragallo’s biography as the owner of Paraneck Stable and everyone associate Ernie as the voice and face of Paraneck? Is this one of those wink-wink nod-nod things where the rules are made to be broken, or least overlooked?
“If I wanted to be licensed I’d have to prove to the board that I’ve satisfied the bill,” Paragallo said.
The University of Pennsylvania isn’t the only business that had to go to extremes to collect money owed by Paragallo. When the SRWB revoked his license, he reportedly owed $500,000 to the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. That bill was said to be paid.
I can say from personal experience that Paragallo (or a business entity he controlled) wasn’t quick to pay for advertising invoices to at least one Thoroughbred trade magazine , either. On at least one occasion, a publication I was affiliated with was forced to hire an attorney and threaten to take legal action to collect money owed on advertising for Paragallo’s stallions.
I wonder if other businesses have had similar problems.
Five years ago, in July 2004, Paragallo announced he was going to sell all of his racing and breeding stock by the end of that year because of unspecified health problems. It’s a shame he didn’t.
Now I know that I’m going to be castigated for that statement by some people in the industry who will be quick to point out all the good things Ernie Paragallo has done: the $1 million given to the NTRA Charities New York Heroes Fund in 2001, the seasons to Unbridled’s Song and other stallions he has donated to charities, and the money he spends in the industry.
Racing does need Thoroughbred owners, and it needs more owners than it currently has. But it needs owners who act responsibly regarding the care and treatment of their horses. Based on what I’ve learned about the horses under Paragallo’s care, at least those at his Center Brook Farm, I don’t believe he fits into that category.
Of course, Paragallo isn’t even licensed as an owner, is he?
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Tags: center brook farm, ernie paragallo, new bolton, New York Racing Association, new york state racing and wagering board, nyra, nysrwb, paraneck, paraneck stable, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, srwb
Posted in Horse Slaughter, Horse Welfare, People, Regulatory Issues, ernie paragallo | 74 Comments »
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