Archives > Owners/Owning

Just the Start: Steve Zorn explains New York ownership basics: Now we're at just about $43,000 for the year, before the horse has set foot on the track in the afternoon. How do we pay it? From the purses? Don't we wish....; [Posted July 16, 2008 12:55 PM]; ---

Harry Aleo, 1919-2008: Harry Aleo (in the cowboy hat) with Lost in the Fog in the Golden Gate winner's circle after the 2005 Golden Bear. Photo by ibison4. Reports the Blood-Horse: Harry J. Aleo, the crusty Northern California Thoroughbred owner who burst into national prominence with 2005 champion sprinter Lost in the Fog, died at his San Francisco home on the afternoon of June 21. He was 88. Aleo campaigned many good horses in northern California with trainer Greg Gilchrist, but the late champion Lost in the Fog was his big horse, the one who brought Aleo to racing's pinnacle, although not...; [Posted June 22, 2008 6:45 PM]; ---

~~Egos~~ Legends Launch Fund: Nick Zito, Bob Baffert, and D. Wayne Lukas are teaming up to launch the Thoroughbred Racing Legends Fund, which plans to raise more than $75 million by late August and create a 100-horse stable within three years. Partnerships are nothing new in racing, reports the Wall Street Journal: But while most partnerships buy established horses with some track record of success, the Legends fund plans to acquire mostly unproven -- and cheaper -- thoroughbreds and utilize Messrs. Lukas, Baffert and Zito to scout and develop them. Investors must commit a minimum of $3 million over three years to participate in...; [Posted June 9, 2008 9:55 AM]; ---

Material Information: On the IEAH web site, co-president Michael Iavarone is described as "a high-profile investment banker on Wall Street," but Bloomberg turns up a different story, reporting that the man behind the $50 million Big Brown stud deal and a proposed $100 million racing hedge fund is a sanctioned penny stock broker and failed dotcom bubble day trader. The NYT adds a few more details: "Iavarone told The New York Times that he had worked for Goldman Sachs, the world's largest investment bank.... But he never worked for Goldman Sachs." Iavarone said he couldn't reveal much about his background earlier, because...; [Posted May 28, 2008 11:45 PM]; ---

New Owners Left Out?: Maybe: "Existing and potential owners are being victimized by two market heavyweights that arguably could be considered discouraging to the game's growth. That's of far greater importance to the state of horse racing than any personal axes we have to grind as horseplayers yearning to see our favorite stars race into their golden years" (ESPN)....; [Posted June 27, 2007 8:45 AM]; ---

Gill's Last Year of Racing?: Owner Michael Gill says it could be his last year of racing. "I've talked to the wife [Sarah]. They've created a situation where I'm not supposed to succeed. She asked me the hard question: 'Are you having fun?'" (Times-Picayune)...; [Posted March 25, 2005 12:35 PM]; ---

Interesting: The First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on March 7 in the ongoing lawsuit between owner Michael Gill and Gulfstream Park. Gill sued Gulfstream in 2003 for defamation following the publication of a Sports Illustrated article that alleged Gill "engaged in illegal horse racing practices." The ruling on Monday was about a side issue: Specifically, Gill's right to know the identities of the anonymous tipsters that reported suspicious activities* at his barn to the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (TRPB), prompting an investigation into Gill's practices at Gulfstream during the winter of 2002-2003. The District Court of New Hampshire...; [Posted March 10, 2005 2:45 PM]; ---

A Will to Win: I'm a little scared of owner Michael Gill after reading this article. "I'm a competitor ... I am the toughest son of a bitch you've ever met in your life. If you want to beat me at something, you'll have to kill me." (Daily Racing Form)...; [Posted January 22, 2005 12:10 PM]; ---

Ramsey Fined, Suspended: Give the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority credit for a quick investigation into allegations that Ken Ramsey, a finalist for the Eclipse Award for top owner, attempted to bribe another owner to scratch a horse from a race. A mere week after news of the investigation surfaced, the authority fined Ramsey $25,000 and gave him a seven-day suspension for the matter. This means, though, that of the three finalists for the owner's Eclipse, one is known for his horses' not infrequent post race drug positives, and the other thinks he can bribe fellow players to get what he wants. How embarrassing....; [Posted January 18, 2005 6:35 AM]; ---

Determined to Win: "Michael Gill issued a challenge yesterday to the racing world: If you don't name him the winner of the Eclipse Award as outstanding owner this year, then he'll be even more determined to win next year. 'I'm going to make it so they have to give it to me,' said Gill, one of three finalists for the owners Eclipse. 'If I have to win 700 races, then I'll win 700 races.'" (Baltimore Sun)...; [Posted January 9, 2005 11:35 AM]; ---

Filling Time: "You know, one day I bought the horse [in training] and another day I saw this beautiful land in Ocala, these beautiful horses, and I couldn't get it out of my head," NHL owner Alan Cohen tells Dave Joseph at the Sun-Sentinel. With his Panthers team spread out across America and Europe waiting for an agreement that will end the lockout, Cohen is keeping busy with racehorses, recently spending almost $2 million on nine mares in foal to top stallions. No plans for the babies yet; Cohen and his trainer are discussing options....; [Posted November 28, 2004 11:30 AM]; ---

Like Going Home: Ken Ramsey, owner of Kitten's Joy, "is the Thoroughbred-owner equivalent of an oil wildcatter, challenging conventional rules with a common-sense wisdom, daring fate and never afraid of failure." He should feel right at home in Texas. (ESPN)...; [Posted October 20, 2004 8:32 AM]; ---

Loose Purse Strings Needed: Some racehorse owners make millions of dollars, others lose thousands upon thousands. "In other words, this is a speculative investment for people with substantial means. Don't bet on horses to put the kids through college or fund your retirement plan. But those who have some money to play with and enjoy horses may find it enjoyable, and if they're lucky, financially rewarding." (Los Angeles Times)...; [Posted October 10, 2004 4:45 PM]; ---

Surprise!: Owning racehorses isn't profitable -- unless you're in Argentina, the Middle East, or Hong Kong. Pity the Americans, though, who recover only 51% of the money spent on upkeep and training, and the Brits, who get a paltry 28%. (BBC)...; [Posted October 7, 2004 7:00 AM]; ---

A Reminder: Big prices can mean little: "The muscular $8 million Storm Cat colt sold at Keeneland last month doesn't yet have a name, but other yearlings that have fetched stratospheric auction prices do. "Seattle Dancer demanded a world record $13.1 million in 1985. He ran five times and won $152,413. "Snaafi Dancer commanded $10.2 million in 1983. He never raced. "Imperial Falcon went for $8.25 million in 1984. He earned $13,395 in three career starts." (Courier Journal)...; [Posted October 3, 2004 11:10 AM]; ---

So Much Mystery: Who is the buyer of the $8 million Storm Cat colt? Could it be Japanese owner Fusao Sekiguchi, best known for owning the 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus? "Yes," he said when initially asked by a DRF reporter. Then: "But Sekiguchi uncharacteristically declined to make any further comment himself or through a translator regarding where the colt would race or whether he had any partners in the purchase. After confirming that he had bought the colt ... Sekiguchi was suddenly surrounded by three other members of his party. 'This is not to be discussed,' a female translator named Miki...; [Posted September 16, 2004 7:10 AM]; ---

Gill May Send String: To Bay Meadows. The only issue would be stall space, say track officials. (Daily Racing Form)...; [Posted September 14, 2004 7:30 AM]; ---

Gill: "Willing to Bet Jesus": Two horses owned by Michael Gill tested positive for the banned sedative fluphenazine, a NYRA steward said last Thursday. Clay's Rocket and Kalookan Lady, both trained by Mark Shuman, won races at Saratoga on August 8 and 9, respectively. Gill claims the positives are signs of "a conspiracy against his stable supported by the New York Racing Association and its officials," and "refutes the initial test results, swearing 'on his five kids' lives' and 'willing to bet Jesus' that he will be exonerated and suffer no consequences because of the fluphenazine positives." NYRA officials dismiss the conspiracy charges: "It's the...; [Posted September 12, 2004 2:00 PM]; ---

All the Rewards: And risks of horse ownership, at a fraction of the cost. (Times Union)...; [Posted August 22, 2004 5:55 PM]; ---

Auctions: Odds Are Stacked: "It is one of those issues discussed in private and kept beneath the rug, but the horse-trading business, laissez-faire to its core, has been a dangerous place for the uninitiated and the not entirely informed for centuries." (New York Post)...; [Posted August 12, 2004 11:25 AM]; ---

A.I.R. Site Up: I haven't followed the brouhaha surrounding the movement for reforming Thoroughbred sales and Satish Sanan's boycott of this year's yearling market all that closely, but those who have may be interested in visiting the recently launched web site of Sanan's group, the Alliance for Industry Reform....; [Posted July 18, 2004 5:00 PM]; ---

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