Curlin was the story of the week, in the court room and on the racetrack.

The 2007 Horse of the Year made his grass debut Saturday in Belmont Park’s Man o’ War going 1 3/8 miles and ran a solid race to be second to Red Rocks, the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner. Solid enough to warrant a trip to France for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October? Not in my book, not when you consider how much stiffer the competition will be and how much more challenging the conditions at Longchamp figure to be.

The fact that Curlin even raced in New York is a tribute to the power of attorneys. Only a few weeks ago it looked as though the legal entanglement minority owners Shirley Cunningham and William Gallion were in was going to prevent the horse from racing in New York because the owner’s license of Cunningham had expired and the New York State Racing and Wagering Board said it would not resissue the license because it would not be in the best interests of racing. Cunningham and Gallion were on trial at the time on a wire fraud charge related to their legal fees in a class-action lawsuit involving the diet drug Fen-Phen. Attorneys for Jess Jackson, Curlin’s majority owner, fought to turn over the Gallion-Cunningham ownership to a court-appointed receiver, and an attorney for the people in the class-action suit who were allegedly gouged wanted Curlin sold in a public auction.

Gallion and Cunningham are to be retried (with a different judge presiding over the case) after their first trial ended with a hung jury and a mistrial. Jackson’s attorneys won this round and were able to race Curlin in New York.

But the legal entanglement won’t be over until the fat lady involved in the Fen-Phen case sings. Curlin will probably have little babies running around by then.

THE PAULICK REPORT’s anonymous news tip line got word that some past-post betting took place at Tampa Bay Downs on a race from Philadelphia Park June 28, and we had an exclusive report on that incident  last Monday. Our friends at the Thoroughbred Times did a quick rewrite of the story later that day, which didn’t go down too well with us. A Paulick Report follow-up focused on the two leading industry trade publications, including Bloodhorse, where I served for 15 years, touching on the cozy relationship those magazines traditionally have with the advertising community, which frequently wield their considerable clout to alter editorial coverage. The article was not meant to categorize Frank Angst, the Thoroughbred Times author who rewrote the Paulick Report story without attribution, as a bad reporter. Not giving credit to another publication is how business is done in the trenches of the Thoroughbred trade publications. Angst, in fact, is a very good reporter whose coverage of the wagering side of the industry has been the best in the business.

The most important lesson to take out of the two articles is the fact that the pari-mutuel industry is operating with an antiquated tote system that could rock the integrity of the very core of the business. Past-posting has occurred, and no one can say with absolute certainty that it isn’t happening more frequently than we know.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF BETTING REVENUE among tracks, horseman’s purses and account wagering companies was at the center of the dispute between Ellis Park and the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association that prompted Ron Geary to throw down the gauntlet and threaten to close Ellis Park for good recently. Geary backed off on his threat, opening the western Kentucky track a week late in what can only be termed a victory for horsemen. They also won a victory against Churchill Downs this past week when a simulcast contract was signed between Florida horsemen and Calder. The account wagering dispute still lingers there, as it does in many jurisdictions where the account wagering companies, especially those owned by racetracks, are getting an increasingly bigger share of the pie.

A new organization, the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Group, is trying to reshape the business model for account wagering, and the Paulick Report profiled how the THG leaders are going about it.

THE NEWLY APPOINTED KENTUCKY HORSE RACING COMMISSION had its first meeting last week, and indications are that it will be full-speed ahead on regulations or a ban on anabolic steroids. Lo and behold, the makeup of the commission shows some diversity of viewpoints, despite the politics that are inherent in this process, and the Paulick Report gave the governor and his close ally Tracy Farmer two thumbs up on most of the appointments.

FINALLY, THE BREEDERS’ CUP BOARD OF MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES held an election on Friday to fill seven spots on its 14-member board of directors. All five board members seeking reelection won, and two open positions were filled by Helen Alexander of Middlebrook Farm and Roy Jackson of Lael Stables, which raced Barbaro. 

I’ll have more on the Breeders’ Cup election in tomorrow’s Paulick Report post.

By Ray Paulick

Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report

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Tags: Barbaro, Breeders' Cup, churchill downs, Curlin, frank angst, Helen Alexander, jess jackson, kentucky horse racing commissions, past-post betting, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, Roy Jackson, shirley cunningham, Thoroughbred Horsemen's Group, thoroughbred times, william gallion

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