Gill’s finances
Let’s see…he’s lost MILLIONS in the racing industry, so he must be financing things with his MORTGAGE business…the other riskiest business out there .
I think it’s time the IRS shined a flashlight up his tail .
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;4642158]
Maybe Ray simply put a hold on the debate until further news is released for tomorrow’s “edition”. Obviously with the TB Times, DRF, BloodHorse and some regional paper’s picking up on this it is a story with momentum and interest.[/QUOTE]
I guess I was correct: Paulick 1-26-10 “Gill: ‘What have I done that’s so wrong?’”
[Ray] contacted him Monday at his Mortgage Specialists office in New Hampshire. Needless to say, he wasn’t happy with the actions of the jockeys or with the unwelcome publicity, and in a 30-minute, emotional interview touched on a wide range of subjects. Among the revelations from the 54-year-old Gill were:
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;4642411]
I guess I was correct: Paulick 1-26-10 “Gill: ‘What have I done that’s so wrong?’”[/QUOTE]
There are so many things that are wrong with what Gill said it’s hard to know where to start.
But I do have a question based on this quote:
tired of suing racetracks—and winning, by the way, every effing time.”
Did he, or didn’t he, win against DE? His horses aren’t running there, so… ?
And he compares himself to a $5000 claimer with bad knees and a sore neck… yet he says none of his horses are sore?!
Oh, and all of his horses have gone into retirement programs?? Really?? Could’ve fooled me!
GAH!!!
Congrats to everyone who got Penn to do something, however temporary. It’s a beginning, and could be a good one. Lawsuit threats get thrown around all the time: one would hope that Penn’s and PA Gaming’s lawyers would take one look and say “Better to stand up to it then settle”. Because caving in opens a whole 'nother can of worms.
So from what source can the media get more accurate statistics on breakdowns than what is feared Penn will come up with? Can/ will several other trainers who can be listed as “Trainer A, Trainer B and Trainer C” provide full disclosure anonymously? And then compare Gill’s numbers to those?
Just a thought watching this unfold.
At Philadelphia Park, they have for years booted people off the grounds and used the justification that it is “private property” to do so. I’m wondering why Penn doesn’t just kick Gill’s butt to the curb and use the same reasoning.
[QUOTE=Stellaspeed;4642348]
Let’s see…he’s lost MILLIONS in the racing industry, so he must be financing things with his MORTGAGE business…the other riskiest business out there .
I think it’s time the IRS shined a flashlight up his tail .[/QUOTE]
The IRS is or has already made his life hell supposedly. Don’t know any current updates.
As pointed out by another the response given by Gill are so wild, diverse and even contradictory it’s almost astounding.
Case in point - his own words per Ray:
Gill denies “running sore horses,” and said he didn’t have a single bad test in 2009.
“I love the competition. I love the animal. I am a competitor. I am that $5,000 broke down racehorse. I’m a raw competitor with bad knees and sore neck. What better place to compete than in horse racing, and I don’t even gamble on these horses.”
Well which is it? You don’t race horses that are sore or you just love it when sore horses run? The latter of which is so bizarre of a statement to make that I wonder if he grasps how stupid if not repulsive it sounds.
As I see it, the biggest problem with Gill is that to him, this is truly just a business. He appears to have no emotion involved, the horse is just a means to an end. In every interview I have read thus far, he makes that clear. What true horseman do you know that would refer to their horses as just “cheap claiming horses” - as if that somehow diminishes the value of their life and the cruel end that they meet in his “care”. It’s true that not every owner/trainer involved in this sport has a love for the horse - there are more than a few, I’m sure, for whom it’s just a business. However, these people operate on a much smaller scale than Gill and therefore avoid the spotlight.
I know it may be very tricky legally to stop this kind of behavior, but if someone doesn’t, it will hasten the extinction of this sport.
I’ve been following this thread with genuine interest. Haven’t had any facts to contribute.
Like the rest of you, I loathe Michael Gill and how he operates. Is he not aware of the 15 horses listed in the first post that broke down? Obviously not or he wouldn’t claim his breakdown rate is no worse than that of anyone else.
It’s clear that everything he says is delusional. Or designed to show he’s innocent of any wrong doing. Sounds like SOP for sleazy mortgage financers. Someone posted he was a lawyer. Is that correct? He certainly has taken the wrong side of the laws by twisting facts & trying to carefully construct his statements. Big problem with that is that horsemen know the truth. Since he’s no horseman, just a user of animals he considers commodities, he just doesn’t get it.
I need to point out an important topic that Gill has repeatedly touched upon.
When he says “I’ve had no positive tests”. That does not mean he, nor his connections, are acting in an ethical manner.
Pennsylvania is HORRENDOUS at testing for medications.
You CAN give Cobra Venom - no test for it.
You CAN give Snail Extract - no test for it.
Saying you’ve had not positive tests in the last year at Penn National means you didn’t:
a.) Give Clen Buterol closer than 48 hours out
b.) Give more than 6 cc’s of Dex 24 hours out
c.) Give Bute and Banamine
d.) Tap excessively in the last 7 days
That’s pretty much all your going to get caught using at Penn.
[QUOTE=Little Hound;4642440]
At Philadelphia Park, they have for years booted people off the grounds and used the justification that it is “private property” to do so. I’m wondering why Penn doesn’t just kick Gill’s butt to the curb and use the same reasoning.[/QUOTE]
Little Hound, think about it, I’m sure your conclusion will be correct.
There is no test for Cobra Venom.
A couple of months ago an Aussie outfit claimed to have developed a testing kit, but I doubt it’s widely available in the US, or if it’s even approved.
Is there a test for sea-snail venom?
I am unfamiliar with shockwave therapy. I thought it was just used by vets to treat injured areas. I was not aware that people were abusing it for it’s anesthetia-like effects. An old timer just told me he thinks the effects can last for either hours or days. Is this true?
After googling it, it appears the devices used to apply shockwave therapy to horses are now hand held devices. So, when Gill says no one would find those in his barns, I’m guessing that could be because he can simply stick it in his pocket when he leaves.
Looks like there is a meeting today between management and the jockeys.
My satire at it’s worst…
Management: Look, other people are breaking horses down too. Our records only show 7 breakdowns in 2009 which isn’t that bad. If we start examining the horses pre-race will you ride?
Jockeys: No
Management: Darn, now we might actually have to ask Mr. Gill to remove his 49 horses and face a law suit.
If Gill means what he says about he’s an open book. Take off the chains and security cameras at your barn at Elk Creek and put a sign out front that says “Open to the Public”.
Mr. Gill needs to start taking actions and doing less talking. Skiptomyloumydarlin, Laughing Moon and Melodeeman are the results of his actions to the negative. A nice start would be to partner with a REAL retirement program, not someone like Don Nickerson, and issue a joint statement saying you will donate $2,000 to said agency every time they take one of your horses and how about starting off by stroking a check for about $50,000 to get things started. That, if I was his PR person, would be the first thing I would be doing today instead of threatening to sue everyone under the sun. Now I know why people hate lawyers.
How does Gill make his money? Kicking puppies and running sweat shops?
What a pleasant person he is.
Aside from PR lip service, he’d have to run his operation like a human being and start treating his charges as living creatures.
I truly hope the jocks stick to their guns…
They are meeting as we speak…Tick Tock…Tick Tock
Dick, please keep us posted as soon as you find out anything about that meeting.
I, too, hope the jocks stick to their guns. The fact that they took the stance they did on Saturday strongly indicates to ME that they know what’s going on with Gill’s horses. Jockeys have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and they know it. As soon as they hit their mount’s back in the paddock they are in peril until they are safely standing on the scales 10 minutes or so later. Anything can happen any step of the way: flipping in the paddock, rank in the post parade, acting up in the gate, stumbling at the break, bolting on the turn, etc., etc. Jockeys take those risks because they’ve already reconciled the cost/benefit equation, knowing full well that, eventually, they will be hurt.
So, for jockeys to refuse to ride races with Gill entries speaks volumes about their legitimate concern that their cost/benefit equation is skewed and there is an unacceptable level of risk. Jockeys also know a lot about the goings-on backside and the people who work there. 'Nuff said.
I’m wondering if anyone has ever challenged Mr. Gill to explain what his training methods are that are so superior that he can win races at such a clip? After all, he hasn’t been hiring remarkably talented trainers, just people who will do things Michael’s way…whatever that is.
