in light of his horse “It’s a Bird” being disqualified from the $300,000 earnings in the Oaklawn Handicap.
From the Arkansas Democrat Gazette
A little more than 24 hours after the Arkansas State Racing Commission unanimously voted to disqualify It’s a Bird from his victory in this year’s $500,000 Grade II Oaklawn Handicap, the horse’s trainer apparently left two profanitylaced phone messages with one commissioner and referred to the five-man governing body as “hillbillies” and “inbred” in another derogatory phone message left with the commission office in Little Rock.
“Nobody likes to receive obscene phone calls,” Commissioner Alex Lieblong of Conway said after hearing the two messages when he returned to work Thursday morning.
The commission, in a 4-0 vote Tuesday afternoon in Little Rock, disqualified It’s a Bird from his 6-length victory in the Oaklawn Handicap on April 4 at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs after he tested positive for naproxen, an antiinflammatory medication that is prohibited in Arkansas.
In addition to ordering redistribution of the purse, including the $300,000 winner’s share, trainer Marty Wolfson, 57, was fined $500.
Trainers normally receive 10 percent of the winning purse, meaning Wolfson’s cut from the Oaklawn Handicap would be $30,000.
The messages left late Wednesday afternoon at Lieblong’s Little Rock business, Lieblong & Associates, and the commission office were within five minutes of each other.
Th e f i rs t m e ssa ge to Lieblong lasted 32 seconds and began with the caller identifying himself as Wolfson and saying he wasn’t sure if he had reached the commissioner who had heard Tuesday’s case on a speakerphone.
The caller then referenced the $500 fine and how the commission would have to come to his barn in Miami - Wolfson is based at Calder Race Course - to try and claim the money.
“I think y’all are going to have to come down here to get it, because you’re not going to get a f****** nickel out of me,” the caller said. “Dealing with all you f****** hillbillies … have a nice day, you f****** hillbillies.”
The second, shorter message referred specifically to Lieblong listening to the hearing from Lexington, Ky., via conference call.
Lieblong, one of the state’s most prominent thoroughbred owners, was in Lexington to attend Fasig-Tipton’s July sale of select yearlings.
“Oh, and Alex, this is Martin Wolfson again,” the seven-second message began. “Next time you’re on speakerphone, take that chewing tobacco out of your mouth, you f****** hillbilly.”
The 38-second message left with the commission office didn’t refer to any specific person, but the fine.
The caller again identified himself as Wolfson and said he was trying to reach the commissioners involved in the hearing and being contacted about the $500 fine.
“… They can’t deal with all those hillbillies up there,” the caller said shortly before the message ended. “They’re backward and inbred, so have a nice day.”
Reached Thursday afternoon, Wolfson declined comment because he said the disqualification of It’s a Bird is being appealed.
Wolfson, again citing the appeal, declined comment when specifically asked if he left the messages.
Mike Meuser, a Lexington, Ky., attorney representing Wolfson and owner Edmund Gann, said the disqualification is being appealed to Pulaski County Circuit Court.
Lieblong said he has never met Wolfson, but believed the three voicemails that began circulating Thursday morning sounded like the trainer.
Wolfson testified over the phone Tuesday.
As a precaution, Lieblong said he contacted Calder management Thursday regarding the security of his three horses there with trainer David Fawkes, including 2009 Iowa Derby winner Duke of Mischief.
“I felt bad about it,” Lieblong said, referring to Wolfson’s naproxen positive test.
Arkansas, like some other jurisdictions, has a zero-tolerance policy regarding naproxen, a generic name for the over-thecounter-medication Aleve.
Wolfson, who began training in 1970, was inducted into the Calder Hall of Fame in 2003. He is son of the late Louis Wolfson, who campaigned 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed.
If it comes back to Marty’s mobile then he’d have some ‘esplaining’
The only bothersome thing is that he declined to comment on the calls. Now I know why he declined, but it doesn’t cast things in a good light.