Posts Tagged ‘Ric Waldman’
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Four American-based stallions-Cuvee, Yonaguska, Lion Heart and Dehere–and Irish-based Powerscourt are scheduled to arrive in Turkey this week to stand at stud as the property of the Turkish Jockey Club.
According to Kentucky-based bloodstock agent Ric Waldman, who advised and assisted the Turkish Jockey Club in the acquisitions, Dehere is being leased while the other four stallions have been purchased by the Turkish Jockey Club. Dehere and Lion Heart previously stood at Coolmore/Ashford Stud in Kentucky, while Powerscourt was scheduled to stand at Coolmore in Ireland after beginning his career at Ashford. Cuvee was at Gainesway, while Yonaguska stood at Elite Thoroughbreds in Louisiana after previously standing at Vinery in Kentucky. The American-based horses are expected to arrive Wednesday with Powerscourt due later in the week.
"All stallions are already extremely popular with Turkish bfreeders and are expected to stand to full books of mares," Waldman said.
Tags: ashford stud, Breeding, coolmore, Cuvee, Dehere, Elite Thoroughbreds, gainesway, Lion Heart, Powerscourt, Ric Waldman, thoroughbred stallions, Turkish Jockey Club, Yonaguska
Posted in Breeding, Stallions | 3 Comments »
Monday, December 1st, 2008
A Franklin County, Kentucky, Circuit Court judge has ruled against a proposed sale of a 20% interest in Horse of the Year Curlin to majority owner Jess Jackson for $4 million. The ruling by Judge Roger Crittenden came in a hearing on Monday involving the 20% owned by disbarred attorneys Shirley Cunningham and William Gallion, who have been hit with a $42-million judgment in a civil lawsuit involving the fees they charged clients in a class-action lawsuit against the manufacturer of a diet drug. Cunningham and Gallion also face criminal charges stemming from the case. The ruling against the sale was not based on the judge’s disapproval of the $4-million appraisal on the 20% interest, but because two parties objected to the sale: Gallion and Cunningham’s attorney, Andre Regard; and the attorney for the class-action plaintiffs, Angela Ford. The judge’s decision effectively ends a lengthy legal battle involving Jackson’s Stonestreet Farm’s and Cunningham and Gallion’s Midnight Cry Stable (also doing business as Tandy LLC). Midnight Cry originally owned 100% in Curlin and sold Jackson and two other partners an 80% interest after the son of Smart Strike broke his maiden early in 2007. Jackson eventually bought out the other two partners, Satish Sanan and George Bolton. Regard said his clients were looking forward to being partners in Curlin as he enters his new career at stud at Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Ky., where he will stand for a first-year stud fee of $75,000, payable when the foal stands and nurses. "He’s going to be a very popular horse," Regard said.
The objections of attorneys Regard and Ford were based on the appraisal provided in court by bloodstock consultant Ric Waldman, who testified in November that the current weakened market conditions placed Curlin’s overall value at $20 million as a stallion prospect. A court-ordered receiver arranged for a sealed-bid sale of the 20% through the Keeneland auction company in early November, but when there were no bids, Jackson offered to buy the interest for $4 million. Ford said the receiver had numerous conversations with Stonestreet representatives about the sale but never consulted with her as representative of the plaintiffs. "I think the evaluation is extremely low and I think it’s something we have to contest," she told Crittenden. Richard Getty, attorney for Jackson, told the court that a "bird in the hand — $4 million, which is a million and a half dollars more than I think it’s worth — is better than a bird in the bush. The current market conditions are horrible. … If they are not smart enough to figure out this is a very good deal, given the market conditions, I feel sorry for them. … A year and a half or two years from now this interest may not be worth $4 million." Regard said the court had been told repeatedly by Jackson’s attorney that no stallion farm would stand Curlin as long as Gallion and Cunningham were minority owners. "Lane’s End is the premier stallion farm in the world," Regard said. "Lane’s End was Tandy’s first choice last year, but disagreements between Mr. Jackson and Mr. Farish concerning some other issues in the industry prevented that. … Entering into a contract (with Lane’s End) proves that there were no legal issues related to Tandy’s ownership in Curlin that would prevent him from going to stud. Lane’s End saw no obstacle to standing the horse." Getty said after the ruling he was not aware of any "disagreements" between Jackson and Farish, and also said he was not aware that Jackson was prepared to make any further offers to Gallion and Cunningham for their interest in the horse. Getty pointed out to Crittenden that Lane’s End is receiving a management fee to stand Curlin and that Gallion and Cunningham would be liable for $1 million in expenses between now and April 2010 for management of the horse, insurance premiums and advertising/marketing costs. "Who’s going to pay the $1 million," he asked the judge. He also cited the fact some top race horses, including two-time Horse of the Year Cigar, can be infertile as stallions. "If they want to run the risk of intertility, we can’t help them," Getty said.
Regard responded that Lane’s End’s will be compensated after stud fees are paid. "The largest part of those expenses are going to be paid upon the receipt of the stud fee income," Regard said.
In the end, Crittenden sustained the objections of Ford and Regard to not go forward with the sale of the 20% in Curlin. "If both parties object, then this court does not intend to rule that the receiver accept the offer," Crittenden said. He ruled that the court-ordered receiver will wrap up its role, but be available in the event of any further offers. Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report Visit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world. Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick
Tags: andre regard, Curlin, horse of the year, jess jackson, Lane's End, midnight cry, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, Ric Waldman, richard getty, roger crittenden, shirley cunningham, stonestreet stables, tandy llc, thoroughbred stallions, william gallion, William S. Farish
Posted in Breeding, Curlin | 11 Comments »
Monday, November 24th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
The retirement of reigning Horse of the Year Curlin to Lane’s End Farm may be one of the more unusual stallion contracts with which the Versailles, Ky., farm’s owner, William S. Farish, has been involved. Farish said as much in an interview with the Paulick Report, although he would not go into details of the deal that was announced on Nov. 21.
Farish confirmed that Lane’s End did not purchase any interest in the Smart Strike 4-year-old colt, who will stand for $75,000 live foal as the property of Jess Jackson and the Midnight Cry Stable – at least until Midnight Cry’s 20% ownership interest is resolved in a legal battle that goes back to a 2001 diet-drug class-action settlement. The case revolved around the legal fees charged by plaintiff attorneys William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham, among others. The two men, who raced under the Midnight Cry stable and bought Curlin as a yearling for $57,000 in 2005, lost a $42 million judgment in a civil suit and face retrial on criminal charges of mail fraud after a previous trial ended in a hung jury. A third defendant was acquitted.
A court-ordered receiver has been charged with selling Midnight Cry’s 20% interest in Curlin, but the fair market value of the horse is in dispute. At a recent hearing, bloodstock consultant Ric Waldman estimated Curlin’s total value at $20 million, meaning Midnight Cry’s interest is worth $4 million – the amount Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, offered to buy it. Andre Regard, an attorney for Midnight Cry, said the figure is too low.
Because of the legal complications, it’s believed Jackson was unable to convey any breeding rights to Lane’s End, a standard part of most stallion contracts that gives the farm standing a horse a minimum of four to six annual breeding rights. In lieu of those rights, the assumption is that Jackson is paying Lane’s End an annual management fee, in addition to standard marketing and board fees. Unless the management fees are linked to Curlin’s stud fee (i.e., they increase if his stud fee increases), Lane’s End will not enjoy the potential upside it would if the farm owned shares or a percentage of the horse, or if the farm received a specific number of annual breeding rights.
Regard said he has requested a copy of the stallion contract from Jackson but has yet to receive it. He suggested the details of the contract could help establish Curlin’s true value. Regard contends that the $20-million appraised value is too low, based on the multiple of 267 times the initial $75,000 stud fee. Some stallions are valued based on a multiple of 400 (or even as high as 500) times the initial stud fee, Regard said.
Farish admitted the negotiations over Curlin were “difficult” because of the legal challenges. That Jackson and Farish ended up business partners on the horse is viewed by some as ironic, in light of Jackson’s crusade to reform the Thoroughbred auction business and his push to have bloodstock agents licensed. It is widely believed the politically-connected Farish used his clout in Kentucky’s legislative circles to restrict reforms and block the mandated licensing of agents.
Curlin was retired following his fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the only time in 16 career starts he finished worse than third. North America’s all-time leading earner, with $10,501,800 won in the United States and Dubai, will make a final public appearance this Saturday at Churchill Downs before joining his sire, Smart Strike, at Lane’s End.
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: andre regard, annual breeding rights, barbara banke, Curlin, fen-phen, jess jackson, Lane's End, midnight cry stable, Ric Waldman, shirley cunningham, smart strike, thoroughbred auction reform, Thoroughbred breeding, thoroughbred stallions, Will Farish, william gallion, William S. Farish
Posted in Breeding, Curlin, Stallions | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
Lane’s End Farm is expected to announce that reigning Horse of the Year Curlin will enter stud at the Versailles, Ky., farm in 2009 for a live foal stud fee of $75,000, the Paulick Report has learned. Lane’s End is owned by William S. Farish, vice chairman of the Jockey Club and former ambassador to Great Britain for President George W. Bush.
Jess Jackson owns 80% of the son of Smart Strike—Sherriffs Deputy, by Deputy Minister, with the other 20% owned by the Midnight Cry Stable of disbarred attorneys Shirley Cunningham and William Gallion. That share has been the focus of a complicated legal battle resulting from a $42-million judgment against Cunningham and Gallion in a civil case. The two also face criminal charges.
Jackson and wife Barbara Banke have offered to buy Midnight Cry’s 20% for $4 million, based on an appraisal by bloodstock expert Ric Waldman that set a $20-million fair market value on Curlin. While Curlin may have been insured for an amount in excess of $40 million, Waldman’s appraisal took into account the current global economic crisis and recent trends in the bloodstock market. The just-concluded November breeding stock sale at Keeneland resulted in a 46% decline in gross revenues.
Jackson announced Nov. 15 that Curlin would enter stud in Kentucky in 2009, though he did not name a farm. At the time, he said various offers were being considered, and also indicated Curlin could become the first stallion to stand at the Stonestreet Farms in Lexington that he owns. The late-season announcement, made after matings for many broodmares already have been planned, may also have contributed to Waldman’s appraisal, which Andre Regard, an attorney for Gallion and Cunningham, said was below the horse’s true value.
No decision is expected on the Midnight Cry share of Curlin prior to a Dec. 1 court date in Franklin County, Ky. If a judge rules that the share should be sold to Jackson for $4 million, an appeal could extend the legal battle well into 2009.
It is believed Gainesway Farm was a “finalist” in the bidding for Curlin’s stud services. Jackson owns a large share of dual 2005 Classic winner Afleet Alex, who stands at Gainesway, owned by South African Graham Beck and run by his son, Antony. Jackson and the Beck family are both involved in the wine business, Jackson in California as the owner of Kendall-Jackson vineyards and the Becks primarily in South Africa. Jackson sells many of his horses through Gainesway and Taylor Made Sales Agency, which is also believed to have been a finalist to stand Curlin. Jackson also is part owner of 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, who stands at Adena Springs. It isn’t known whether Adena Springs, owned by Frank Stronach, actively recruited Curlin.
With a fee of $75,000, Curlin would be the highest-priced first-year stallion entering stud in Kentucky in 2009. Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown will stand at Three Chimneys Farm for $65,000, the same amount as Coolmore/Ashford’s multiple European Group 1 winner Henrythenavigator, who finished second to Raven’s Pass in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in which Curlin was fourth.
“Curlin has proven himself across two continents with 16 starts, the honor of 2007 Horse of the Year and the greatest North American money-earner in racing history,” Jackson said in the Nov. 15 announcement that Curlin would enter stud in 2009. “He always gave it his all and has done everything we have asked of him. I am proud to announce that he will start a new career in 2009 and contribute his soundness, stamina, durability and athleticism to the breed. I am looking forward to seeing his foals compete and possibly exceed his unequaled racing record.”
At the time of the announcement, Jackson said he would consider one more race in 2008 for Curlin if “an appropriate venue and purse are offered.” Curlin has been ruled out of the Clark Handicap at Churchill and Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, the two most likely races for him, so it’s extremely doubtful he will run again.
Curlin, who began his career under the care of Helen Pitts and was transferred to trainer Steve Asmussen after breaking his maiden at Gulfstream Park early in 2007, retires with record earnings of $10,501,800. He won 11 of 16 starts, with two seconds and two thirds. He won seven Grade 1 races: the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Dubai World Cup, consecutive runnings of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Woodward, Preakness and Stephen Foster Handicap. Bred in Kentucky by Fares Farm, he sold for $57,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale. Jackson, Satish Sanan and George Bolton bought at 80% interest in Curlin through bloodstock agent John Moynihan for about $3 million after the colt’s maiden win. Jackson eventually bought Sanan and Bolton’s interests.
Curlin’s sire, Smart Strike, stands at Lane’s End for $150,000. Also joining the 2009 roster at Lane’s End is War Pass, the 2007 2-year-old male champion and winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile who will stand for $30,000 live foal.
Kevin McGee, legal counsel for Jackson’s Kendall-Jackson Vineyards in California, would neither confirm nor deny that a deal with Lane’s End was imminent. Attempts to reach Will Farish were unsuccessful. Bill Farish, son of the Lane’s End owner, said he could not comment on the matter.
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Tags: adena springs, afleet alex, andre regard, ashford, barbara banke, Big Brown, Bill Farish, cigar mile, clark handicap, coolmore, coolmore/ashford, Curlin, dubai world cup, fares farm, Frank Stronach, gainesway, gainesway farm, george bolton, ghostzapper, helen pitts, henrythenavigator, horse of the year, horse of the year curlin, Horse Racing, jess jackson, jockey club gold cup, john moynihan, Keeneland, keeneland november breeding stock sale, kevin mcgee, Lane's End, midnight cry stable, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, Ric Waldman, satish sanan, shirley cunningham, smart strike, steve asmussen, stonestreet farms, taylor made farm, taylor made sales agency, Thoroughbred industry, thoroughbred stallions, war pass, Will Farish, william gallion, William S. Farish
Posted in Breeding, Curlin, Horse Racing, Racing Greats, Stallions | 10 Comments »
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 »
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