Posts Tagged ‘richard santulli’

Saratoga typically dominates the racing scene in late July and August, so it was good news for Del Mar that the West Coast track had its opening a week earlier than the Spa this year, putting it in the national spotlight at least for a few days.

And a very good debut  it was, with the largest opening-day crowd in history – despite an increase in parking and admission prices, soaring gasoline prices and a spiraling economy. A stubborn TVG (do they have any friends left in the industry?) continues to make it difficult for fans to wager online, and that factor had to contribute to a 10% drop in handle.

Last year’s problems with the newly installed Polytrack (the afternoon heat softened the wax, making it more like mushytrack) seem to have been corrected, and the race times in the afternoon are several seconds faster than they were in 2007. Just as important, the track is safe – so far. But horseplayers can’t be blamed for holding back a bit on their Del Mar wagers if they’re uncertain about the kind of track they’ll be getting. More closers than front-runners seem to be winning, but the track is playing fair.

Speaking of playing fair (or not), why did the controlling members of the Breeders’ Cup board of members and trustees gang up to keep NetJets founder Richard Santulli off the 14-member operating board of directors in a recent election? Santulli is a highly respected businessman who brings everything to the table you’d think the Breeders’ Cup board needs. Apparently, however, he lacked the one thing the controlling members wanted: a nodding head.

One fellow the controlling board members favor is Terry Finley, the founder and president of West Point Thoroughbreds, a successful racing partnership. The week after Finley was re-elected to the Breeders’ Cup board, the organization teamed up with West Point in a creative promotion  for the popular ESPY Awards on ESPN that gave all the participating celebrities and athletes the opportunity to redeem a free share in a West Point horse and enjoy a free, VIP trip to the Breeders’ Cup championships. West Point in turn would be able to promote the celebrity/athletes as a West Point partner. No matter how innocent the choice of West Point may have been, it’s amazing no one within the Breeders’ Cup saw the potential to read this as another good ol’ boy deal of “we’ll scratch your back if you scratch ours.”

A guest editorial submitted to the Paulick Report by Kentucky Congressman Ed Whitfield is sure to have heads shaking with disagreement in some corners over Whitfield’s proposal to amend the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 to address some of the issues the industry is struggling with, including medication. Kentucky’s newly configured racing commission and the California Horse Racing Board took steps this past week to regulate anabolic steroids, and that’s a good thing, but Whitfield’s efforts may be gaining momentum in Congress.

A Paulick Report reader called it typical for the “land of fruits and nuts” when Calilfornia Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed former actress Bo Derek  to the California Horse Racing Board, but what’s wrong with having someone whose life is largely committed to the protection of animals (horses in particular) on a governmental board that regulates horse racing? We weren’t the only one to call the appointment a “10.”

Interesting that on the same day the Paulick Report was writing about the death of print coverage of horse racing (at least in the Los Angeles Times, the nation’s fourth-largest newspaper that axed its two racing writers) , Jess Jackson was stimulating interest with an online poll asking the public to help him guide Curlin through the rest of his racing career. Sure, it’s a gimmick, but it’s a smart one that got a lot of people talking about racing’s biggest star instead of racing’s biggest problems. Within a couple of days, more than 10,000 people had voted in the poll. Go here  to vote or see the current results of the poll.

Anyone else wondering what’s up at the Downs? Churchill Downs, the publicly traded company cut a couple of dozen jobs  this past week in the wake of a falling share price. CEO Bob Evans hasn’t pulled a rabbit out of his hat yet, and neither has the team of techies he put together in California’s Silicon Valley to develop new products and ideas. Confrontations with horsemen over distribution of account wagering revenue haven’t been productive to Churchill Downs or the industry. 

By Ray Paulick

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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