Howard Taylor, a large-scale Standardbred owner and equine attorney, has filed a federal civil lawsuit against racetrack owner Jeff Gural after Gural excluded him from The Meadowlands in November.
The lawsuit accuses Gural of defamation, trade libel, placing Taylor in a false light, tortious interference, and unfair competition. The complaint demands compensatory, special and punitive damages be awarded in excess of $150,000, attorneys' fees, and injunctive relief prohibiting the publication of defamatory statements. The complaint requests a jury trial.
The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The complaint in a civil lawsuit only tells the plaintiff's side of the story. The Paulick Report requested comment from Jeff Gural but did not hear back at publication time.
Last month, Gural released a statement naming Taylor and 32 others, indicating he had received information related to the federal doping case against Lisa Giannelli showing the named individuals had purchased BB3 (which Gural equated to EPO), had purchased Thymosyn, or had horses test positive for banned substances in out-of-competition testing.
Taylor was one of the people named in the release as having been associated with purchase of BB3.
In his lawsuit, filed earlier this week, Taylor said that no evidence exists that he ever purchased EPO. The closest thing he argues Gural could have is a document from the Giannelli trial that includes documentation that one of Taylor's trainers purchased a product called BB3 in July 2018.
“Taylor never ordered or used BB3, nor did he instruct his trainers to order or use BB3,” the complaint reads. “In any event, BB3 is not EPO. It is a mimetic peptide that is structurally distinguishable from EPO.”
Taylor's suit points out that he has previously sued Gural after Gural cancelled a stakes race at the Meadowlands, and speculates that Gural has been seeking revenge against him since. Gural also owns horses that run at the Meadowlands and elsewhere, leading Taylor to portray Gural as a competitor.
Taylor says that his ban from the Meadowlands, as well as subsequent bans from Buffalo Raceway and Batavia Downs, have harmed his reputation, denied him potential purse winnings, and are placing his many and various ownership partnerships at risk.
Taylor also accuses Gural of making statements on a phone call with leadership of the Standardbred Owners Association of New Jersey that reiterated Gural's belief Taylor purchased EPO for trainers to use on his horses.
“Upon information and belief, Gural has also told others in the industry that 'nobody can own as many horses as Howard does,'” the complaint read. “Through this statement, Gural implied that Taylor does not actually own his horses, but rather is improperly 'fronting' for other people who could not receive a license.”
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