I have only had a few horses insured who had to be euthanized and obviously they weren’t worth anywhere near that much but we didn’t have an adjuster on site with any of them. One had EPM and they gave the go ahead over the phone. One broke down after the wire in the race we claimed her out of and was put down after refracturing coming out of anesthesia and they gave the go ahead over the phone. The last broke down on the track and they were notified after he was gone. I imagine location comes into play as well as my horses were in PA but the adjusters were in KY.
Reading that story makes me realize how long Larry Bramlage has been doing what he does as “orthopedic surgeon to the stars”. It’s amazing, really. He must have some stories.
It’s a sad tale all around. The horse’s awful death and the demise of am amazing piece of American TB racing royalty.
Thanks, Beowulf!
[QUOTE=Laurierace;7855098]
I just shared that on my page, I found it fascinating. I apparently misunderstood, I thought Lundy was convicted of killing him for insurance.[/QUOTE]
Lundy was convicted of bank fraud and bribery, among other charges, in connection with Calumet’s dealings with First City Texas, specifically with Frank Cihak who resigned as Vice Chairman of FCT in early October, 1990 (and was also charged and convicted of crimes in re. financial dealings with Calumet). On 25 Oct 1990 Calumet was informed that if the farm couldn’t repay $15M of what it owed FCT by 28 Feb 1991, a loan secured by a mortgage on the the farm and all of its assets, the bank would foreclose. That $15M was eventually paid out of the insurance settlement funds the farm rec’d. for Alydar but, as Mr. Dixon said, it only delayed the inevitable.
I can see why Mr. Dixon would want to set the record straight in regard to what he said and did in this matter. There’s no reason whatsoever to doubt his integrity but there are some directly relevant and undisputed facts about Alydar’s actual value as a breeding stallion and Calumet’s financial situation in Nov., 1990 that he doesn’t mention, perhaps because they were, as he said, known to very few at that time, even in KY. Some of these facts are, however, set forth in the ‘Texas Monthly’ article cited and they do, unfortunately, demonstrate that by 1990 Alydar, thanks to years of mismanagement, was worth more to Calumet dead than alive. They do not prove that the horse was deliberately injured but as far as I’m concerned they prove beyond any doubt that investigation of that possibility was fully justified, however much it may have inconvenienced Mr. Dixon et al.
1 Like
[QUOTE=rcloisonne;7859043]
I guess that’s one explanation. However, time is of the essence when there is compromised blood flow to the injured area and points south. The horse was probably a gonner in any case given the type of injury sustained but many hours without restoration of blood flow via surgical repair of damaged arteries can’t have helped.[/QUOTE]
I hear you, but I’m also telling you, I’ve been a part of these fracture surgeries at a major university and you cannot rush the horse into surgery immediately. It would have fatal consequences.
The main arteries in the distal limb are the medial and lateral palmar-- if either of those had ruptured, we wouldn’t be having this discussion because Alydar would have been bleeding out. A large portion of the blood flow is supplied by accessory vasculature such as arterioles and capillaries which cannot reliably be repaired surgically. That’s why blood flow is still such a big question mark even after surgery.
Part of the reason you wait, aside from the fact that you run the risk of killing a horse on the table if you tried to anesthetize him while in shock and unstable, is to assess the extent the blood flow has been compromised to the lower leg. The surgical team is fighting a losing battle if they don’t have blood going to the leg, and any efforts would be in vain.
And then you have to assemble the team, have a plan, etc. I’m honestly surprised they got him on the table in 7-8 hours-- that is a fast turn around. Usually it is more like 12 hours, with part of that being travel. Often it is more like 24 hours when there isn’t the matter of high dollars and insurance involved in the decision.
An open fracture is almost always a death sentence, unfortunately. Even if the bone can be successfully repaired, even if the horse cooperates, even if you have good blood flow, you still have to deal with infection. It’s often the infection that does them in.
[QUOTE=beowulf;7859108]
for dressagetraks[/QUOTE]
Beowulf, you are a saint!!! 
[QUOTE=Texarkana;7859336]
Beowulf, you are a saint!!! :)[/QUOTE]
i think that is the first time i have been called something positive on this board :winkgrin:
[QUOTE=Texarkana;7859328]
I hear you, but I’m also telling you, I’ve been a part of these fracture surgeries at a major university and you cannot rush the horse into surgery immediately. It would have fatal consequences.
The main arteries in the distal limb are the medial and lateral palmar-- if either of those had ruptured, we wouldn’t be having this discussion because Alydar would have been bleeding out. A large portion of the blood flow is supplied by accessory vasculature such as arterioles and capillaries which cannot reliably be repaired surgically. That’s why blood flow is still such a big question mark even after surgery.
Part of the reason you wait, aside from the fact that you run the risk of killing a horse on the table if you tried to anesthetize him while in shock and unstable, is to assess the extent the blood flow has been compromised to the lower leg. The surgical team is fighting a losing battle if they don’t have blood going to the leg, and any efforts would be in vain.
And then you have to assemble the team, have a plan, etc. I’m honestly surprised they got him on the table in 7-8 hours-- that is a fast turn around. Usually it is more like 12 hours, with part of that being travel. Often it is more like 24 hours when there isn’t the matter of high dollars and insurance involved in the decision.
An open fracture is almost always a death sentence, unfortunately. Even if the bone can be successfully repaired, even if the horse cooperates, even if you have good blood flow, you still have to deal with infection. It’s often the infection that does them in.[/QUOTE]
Quoting to say that I agree with your perspective, and to also note that surgeries (whether it be human or animal) are often not performed immediately, for a myriad of reasons. Many injuries are allowed to go a couple days in an effort to get the swelling down first. An open fracture is a bad deal, but even those are frequently postponed.
I may have other questions, but the delay before surgery isn’t one of them.
I appreciate your informed response, Tex.
Gumtree, my surprise about the delay had nothing to do with reading anything into it by looking for signs of conspiracy. It just struck me as very odd they wouldn’t have taken the horse to the clinic right away, even if just to have him in a fully equipped place to monitor and make sure the he was made as comfortable as possible.
If one of mine sustains an injury like that they will be euthanized as soon as the vet arrives. I can’t think of any horse surviving the type of leg fracture Alydar had with the exception of a couple of ponies and one breeding stallion whose owners opted for amputation and prosthetics.
[QUOTE=jadebe;7859313]
Lundy was convicted of bank fraud and bribery, among other charges, in connection with Calumet’s dealings with First City Texas, specifically with Frank Cihak who resigned as Vice Chairman of FCT in early October, 1990 (and was also charged and convicted of crimes in re. financial dealings with Calumet). On 25 Oct 1990 Calumet was informed that if the farm couldn’t repay $15M of what it owed FCT by 28 Feb 1991, a loan secured by a mortgage on the the farm and all of its assets, the bank would foreclose. That $15M was eventually paid out of the insurance settlement funds the farm rec’d. for Alydar but, as Mr. Dixon said, it only delayed the inevitable.
I can see why Mr. Dixon would want to set the record straight in regard to what he said and did in this matter. There’s no reason whatsoever to doubt his integrity but there are some directly relevant and undisputed facts about Alydar’s actual value as a breeding stallion and Calumet’s financial situation in Nov., 1990 that he doesn’t mention, perhaps because they were, as he said, known to very few at that time, even in KY. Some of these facts are, however, set forth in the ‘Texas Monthly’ article cited and they do, unfortunately, demonstrate that by 1990 Alydar, thanks to years of mismanagement, was worth more to Calumet dead than alive. They do not prove that the horse was deliberately injured but as far as I’m concerned they prove beyond any doubt that investigation of that possibility was fully justified, however much it may have inconvenienced Mr. Dixon et al.[/QUOTE]
Makes for a good read, as does A Wild Ride. There are a number of facts that are factual. But there is also a lot of embellishments I promise you. There are a number of things being stated as facts that would not fall under the definition of “fact” as far the horse business side of things. I know what I am talking about here. Lundy did not “invent” breeding rights. A lot of supposition being thrown around by the author. In days past any writer/author of integrity would have “boned up” on their understanding and expertise of the horse business or at least hire a knowledgeable person to review, edit and or correct “liberties”.
The bottom line to those directly around and or near what was going on at Calumet will tell anybody that Alydar was worth far more alive than dead. JT knew that more then anyone. It would be correct in saying that JT used Alydar as the farms personal cash machine. But even cash machines run out of money.
Alydar was never syndicate as stated. Most stallions are because most are owned either by people that bred them and raced but did not own a stallion farm or they were bought for racing. If they succeeded on the racecourse and have pedigree and stakes performance the owners have hit the lottery. Very few Stallion farm are able to breed/produce successful stallions, Coolmore/Ashford is one of the few modern day operations that does. So when a top prospect comes on the market top farms line up with offers. The successful bidder then syndicates the horse. Then norm these days is 45-50± shares, (for legal purposes so as not to come under the scrutiny of the SEC the syndicate agreement does not use the term “shares” they are referred to as “fractional interest”) the standing farm is usually but not always the Syndicate manager also. The Standing farm usually receives at least 4 seasons per year for standing the horse and most buy a few shares also. There is a reason for this also but I am not being paid write to an article on stallion syndication. Once fully syndicated the no more shares can be created and put on the market. Breeding rights are given almost always to the trainer and a select few who helped putting the deal together. Sometimes they are fully transferable meaning the holder can sell to someone else. Breeding rights are nothing like owning a share. They do not hold near the same value and can be highly restricted as to what can be done with them. They allow the “owner” to breed one mare per season. No “no bonus” season and are the first to be cut if the stallion’s book is reduced.
The reason an owner of a stallion prospect sells instead of keeping is simple. Most stallions do not make it no matter what their syndication price was. They can open with a stud fee of $100,000 and less than 8 years latter be standing in another state for $7,500 like Smarty Jones. Big Brown has been moved to NY, opened at $65,000 a few years ago and is now at $8.500.
But when one does hit and is fully owned it is a cash machine. Storm Cat was not a syndicated horse. I don’t believe any of the Coolmore/Ashford stallions are either. Mainly closely held partnerships.
Calumet took a big risk not Syndicating Alydar but they didn’t have to. It was basically debt free and reasonably well endowed by its founder. So when Alydar firmly established himself as a top sire the all and his fee quickly rose to more than $250,000 per season the cash machine was over flowing. Giving JT plenty of “collateral” to borrow against. Yes, he spent money are some luxuries outside of the horse business, i.e. a Jet but even at $30,000 per month that was easily paid for with the sale of one season to Alydar. As were some of the other things the article make out to be “outlandish”. I think there were some other non horse business ventures that didn’t work out also. But the majority of money was being spent on the farm and the horses, mares and racing stable and the purchase of other stallions, i.e. Secreto that didn’t pan out. So the farm operation was hemorrhaging money. JT was gambling on coming up with another Alydar and breeding stakes winning mares. I am sure he thought he may have done it with Criminal Type who was bred and owned by Calumet. It was not to be, Alydar was not a sire of sires. The local banks that had been funding Calumet knew things were not going well tighten up. JT needed to raise cash to fund existing debt and cash flow for the farm. He started selling breeding rights in the horse. More and more each year. Hoping for the next “big horse” to come along before the crap hit the fan. At the time of Alydar death the farm had little to no equity in the horse. He was only able to borrow against Alydar by using out of state banks that did not know the about all of the breeding right that had been sold.
Yes, Calumet “on paper” owned 100% of the horse but they were not made aware of all of the breeding right on the street. As I said the owner of a breeding right does not “own” any interest in the horse per-say.
So to those he who continue to think that JT had the horse killed for the insurance money to save his butt and the farm makes no sense. The majority of the insurance payout went to the breeding right owners. Plus the “collateral” had died and existing loans would have been called in. He was only able to keep the “house of cards” afloat by and large due to Alydar. Which is why I said and others far more in the “know” then I, the horse was worth far more to JT alive then dead.
I admit given the fact that a large part of the insured value was on the verge of being cut off which give reason to suspect motive. In the grand scheme of things we are not talking about a lot of money to come up with to make the payment I am sure JT would have found it and kept the game going for a little bit longer. But even if Calumet received all of the $35 million insurance claim it owed more then $110 million. And those loans surly would have been called without the horse.
IMO and others the only reason the Feds tried to make a case for him killing the horse it was only to prove he committed a $35 million dollar insurance fraud which would have carried substantial jail time over just being convicted of bank fraud and bribery. Not sure why the author made him out to be hiding somewhere by saying “when he was finally found” everybody knew where he was.
[QUOTE=Laurierace;7859126]
I have only had a few horses insured who had to be euthanized and obviously they weren’t worth anywhere near that much but we didn’t have an adjuster on site with any of them. One had EPM and they gave the go ahead over the phone. One broke down after the wire in the race we claimed her out of and was put down after refracturing coming out of anesthesia and they gave the go ahead over the phone. The last broke down on the track and they were notified after he was gone. I imagine location comes into play as well as my horses were in PA but the adjusters were in KY.[/QUOTE]
I should have been a bit clearer on the “adjuster” part but none of us are being paid to write articles but I do try to states facts without getting anymore long winded then I often do.
What I meant about the adjuster having to be on “site” doesn’t necessarily mean at the farm, racetrack etc. IME it depends on the value and the circumstances. But in most cases that I am aware of a phone call has to be made by the insured before to getting permission. Obviously there are exceptions like your unfortunate ones. Or a horse that has a horrible catastrophic breakdown on the racetrack and needs to be ASAP.
Most insurance agency’s have adjuster to call in every state they do business in. Just depends on the nature of the claim if they are called on or not.
After reading A Wild Ride…I would still be suspicious of the details surrounding Alydar’s “accident”. Lundy was a real piece of work in the handling of poor Alydar and Calumet!! The “truth, the whole truth”, will never come out!!
I’m not sure if Alydar and his family has a good handle on spatial relationships. His son Wheaton broke his femur in his stall and I have a mare by Wheaton who is much safer to herself living in a turn out shed. 
Having spent many hours talking with John Veitch, Alydar’s trainer, I never got the impression that the horse was a danger to himself in his stall. Also, not sure who said that people with breeding rights would have gotten a share of the settlement. That most certainly would have depended on the wording of the contracts.
And btw, I’d be a lot less suspicious if Alydar hadn’t had a brush with death before the broken leg. He survived that time only because an astute vet recognized the symptoms of lead poisoning.
[QUOTE=SportArab;7860809]
Having spent many hours talking with John Veitch, Alydar’s trainer, I never got the impression that the horse was a danger to himself in his stall. Also, not sure who said that people with breeding rights would have gotten a share of the settlement. That most certainly would have depended on the wording of the contracts.[/QUOTE]
While you are correct when it comes to the wording of the purchase contract. Especially when it comes to a syndicated horses. Shareholders can generally choose to insure or self-insure. But not always. All of the syndicate agreements I have read over the years and or participated in writing the syndicating farm always guaranteed by way of insurance, fertility, accident, sickness and disease, mortality and loss of use as part of the share price in the first year. If the stallion is a “duel hemisphere” horse, frustration of import/export and
shipping was included.
After the first year it is the shareholder’s choice they can choose to remain on the “syndicate’s” policy who “shop it” themselves. Given the fact that there is “strength in numbers” most stay with the syndicate policy. Breeding rights by and large are the same. I used to have an Alydar breeding rights contract on file and may still have it in a box somewhere, I have Northern Dancer, but I seem to remember as part of the purchase price insurance was included. Even if it wasn’t it would make no difference. The horse was insured for a TOTAL of $35 million.
There are only a few underwriters that “book” horse and especially high dollar stallion insurance. Especially after taking a few major “hits”, El Gran Senor, $40 million and Cigar are 2 off the top of my head. So Calumet could not insure only their interest for $35 million and the people that held breeding rights of which there were quite a few on top of that. Underwriters are a close knit group of separate businesses . There are only so many places they can take a large policy to “lay off” spread the risk to “backers”, investors. Otherwise people would be tempted to “double insure”. Can’t be done.
In Alydar’s case there were 2 underwriters, Lloyd’s and Golden Eagle. Golden Eagle is based in California and was started and owned by John Maybe. Who became a very prominent California owner and breeder. His farm of the same name Golden Eagle a perennial leading breeder for years up until the time of his death. A tough bugger to deal with.
John had a breeding right ask him. Though I am pretty sure he sold it for big bucks in the late 80’s. His would have been different as is usually the case with a trainer’s breeding right. IME.
No disrespect to John a friend of many years horses can and do change in temperament after leaving the race track and taking up stud duties. Most are not easy to handle by any stretch of the imagination. The times I was at Calumet Alydar did not look like an easy one.
Personally I have had a number of horses, colts and geldings that would stand with their butts to their stall door and kick it when something bothered them, a horse and or person walking by would send a swift forceful kick into the door. The stallion stall doors at Calumet were massive solid oak doors. As are most in stud barns I have been in.
I had been in the stallion barn many times I can still visualize it. I believe what happened is perfectly plausible and was a freak accident. At the time the gossip/rumor mill on the streets in Lexington was JT paid the night watchmen to whack his leg with a crowbar. IMO and others nonsense, they guy was not a “horseman”. Even the average horse person would not be comfortable going into a stallion’s stall just to throw feed let alone try and break it’s leg with a crowbar. As people who were there said to me the “forensics” don’t support any of the rumors be it a crowbar or whatever.
Even though JT’s sister Kathy was a close friend JT was not nor my “cup of tea” so my opinion and it is just that, is not swayed by sentiment.
[QUOTE=gumtree;7859655]
…I am sure JT would have found it and kept the game going for a little bit longer.[/QUOTE]
How? No prudent investor or lending institution would touch Calumet at that point. Its FCT loans, beginning in 1986, didn’t go through the traditional review process. FCT VC Cihak waived that step - in return for kickbacks and perks, including a breeding share in Alydar, practices that eventually resulted in the collapse of FCT and more than a few criminal convictions, including Lundy’s. Could/would he have floated enough additional breeding shares in 3mos. to drum up $15M? Or found a few more QH breeders with deep pockets that were willing to fork over ~$2M to breed their Dash For Cash mares to Alydar?
Fwiw, even if Alydar was deliberately injured I agree with you that Lundy probably had nothing to do with it. Thing is, he wasn’t the only person in dire straits as of Nov. 1990 that was eligible for a settlement check if the horse died, not to mention the fact that Lundy had made some enemies. What comes across in Dixon’s article as a belated, frivolous, rumor and innuendo-driven investigation into the circumstances of Alydar’s death was not that at all. There was good and compelling reason to look into the possibility that the horse was deliberately harmed.
[QUOTE=gumtree;7860954]
While you are correct when it comes to the wording of the purchase contract. Especially when it comes to a syndicated horses. Shareholders can generally choose to insure or self-insure. But not always. All of the syndicate agreements I have read over the years and or participated in writing the syndicating farm always guaranteed by way of insurance, fertility, accident, sickness and disease, mortality and loss of use as part of the share price in the first year. If the stallion is a “duel hemisphere” horse, frustration of import/export and
shipping was included.
After the first year it is the shareholder’s choice they can choose to remain on the “syndicate’s” policy who “shop it” themselves. Given the fact that there is “strength in numbers” most stay with the syndicate policy. Breeding rights by and large are the same. I used to have an Alydar breeding rights contract on file and may still have it in a box somewhere, I have Northern Dancer, but I seem to remember as part of the purchase price insurance was included. Even if it wasn’t it would make no difference. The horse was insured for a TOTAL of $35 million.
There are only a few underwriters that “book” horse and especially high dollar stallion insurance. Especially after taking a few major “hits”, El Gran Senor, $40 million and Cigar are 2 off the top of my head. So Calumet could not insure only their interest for $35 million and the people that held breeding rights of which there were quite a few on top of that. Underwriters are a close knit group of separate businesses . There are only so many places they can take a large policy to “lay off” spread the risk to “backers”, investors. Otherwise people would be tempted to “double insure”. Can’t be done.
In Alydar’s case there were 2 underwriters, Lloyd’s and Golden Eagle. Golden Eagle is based in California and was started and owned by John Maybe. Who became a very prominent California owner and breeder. His farm of the same name Golden Eagle a perennial leading breeder for years up until the time of his death. A tough bugger to deal with.
John had a breeding right ask him. Though I am pretty sure he sold it for big bucks in the late 80’s. His would have been different as is usually the case with a trainer’s breeding right. IME.
No disrespect to John a friend of many years horses can and do change in temperament after leaving the race track and taking up stud duties. Most are not easy to handle by any stretch of the imagination. The times I was at Calumet Alydar did not look like an easy one.
Personally I have had a number of horses, colts and geldings that would stand with their butts to their stall door and kick it when something bothered them, a horse and or person walking by would send a swift forceful kick into the door. The stallion stall doors at Calumet were massive solid oak doors. As are most in stud barns I have been in.
I had been in the stallion barn many times I can still visualize it. I believe what happened is perfectly plausible and was a freak accident. At the time the gossip/rumor mill on the streets in Lexington was JT paid the night watchmen to whack his leg with a crowbar. IMO and others nonsense, they guy was not a “horseman”. Even the average horse person would not be comfortable going into a stallion’s stall just to throw feed let alone try and break it’s leg with a crowbar. As people who were there said to me the “forensics” don’t support any of the rumors be it a crowbar or whatever.
Even though JT’s sister Kathy was a close friend JT was not nor my “cup of tea” so my opinion and it is just that, is not swayed by sentiment.[/QUOTE]
I was not implying that Alydar had a puppy dog disposition - he was rather at the opposite end of the spectrum. As JV put it “all horse.”
But that is a separate issue from the horse doing things in the stall that would be a danger to himself. I never had the sense he was that kind of horse: opinionated and strong willed, but not stupid and self destructive.
Alydar also had a rather antagonistic relationship with Lundy, apparently taking a chunk out of his arm when in reach.
And with respect to who might have injured the horse (if indeed that is what happened) it wouldn’t have needed to be Lundy or the night watchman. At the time there were well known horse hitmen who would take out a horse so the owners could collect insurance. As has been mentioned before in this thread, the “Sandman,” who was caught and testified in court, admitted to breaking the leg of a horse whose insurance policy stipulated that there would be no payout for death due to colic.
[QUOTE=CrowneDragon;7859247]
Reading that story makes me realize how long Larry Bramlage has been doing what he does as “orthopedic surgeon to the stars”. It’s amazing, really. He must have some stories.
It’s a sad tale all around. The horse’s awful death and the demise of am amazing piece of American TB racing royalty.[/QUOTE]
I saw him at work in the Ohio State Large Animal Hospital in 1985! I think he was a prof there. People already spoke of him as The Guy, though. I didn’t know he was involved with the Alydar case until I read this very interesting account.
Just curious…is JT Lundy still alive? I googled him and saw he finished his prison sentence but not if he is still alive or not. If he is alive, is he involved in the horse business at all?
