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Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Winner Fire At Will Back To Grass, Aims For New York’s Turf Triple Series

Three Diamonds Farm's Fire At Will eyes a return to grass for his next start with the intention on making an eventual appearance in the Turf Triple series.

Trained by Mike Maker, the son of Declaration of War capped a stellar 2-year-old campaign with a victory in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland. Last out, Fire At Will switched to dirt in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on Feb. 27 at Gulfstream Park but finished a distant eighth.

Jordan Wycoff, who manages Three Diamonds with his father Kirk Wycoff, said the Grade 2, $500,000 American Turf on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs could be his next start with the intention of spring boarding into the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Derby Invitational on July 10 – the first leg of the Turf Triple series.

“He will be back on the grass and we're looking at some of these grass races, but we're thinking the American Turf on Derby weekend would be a logical spot to then jump into the Turf Triple series,” Wycoff said. “We wanted him to try the dirt again and that question was answered and now we want to get him to the path that was the goal for him.”

Implemented by NYRA in 2019 as the turf equivalent of the Triple Crown series, with all the legs contested at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course, the Belmont Derby Invitational will again launch the male division of the Turf Triple series that encompasses the Saratoga Derby this summer and the Jockey Club Derby during the Belmont fall meet.

Fire At Will has been back to work since his last start, recording two breezes over the Gulfstream Park main track. Last Saturday, he went five-eighths in 1:00.17 over the South Florida oval, the third fastest of 47 recorded works at the distance.

“All is well. It was a big ask especially off the layoff, but we clearly know that he will be a grass horse going forward,” Wycoff said.

Through a record of 5-3-0-0, Fire At Will broke his maiden in an off-the-turf edition of the With Anticipation on September 2 at Saratoga before winning the Grade 3 Pilgrim over the inner turf at Belmont Park, where he beat next-out stakes winner Step Dancer.

Bred in Kentucky by Troy Rankin, Fire At Will is out of the Kitten's Joy mare Flirt making him a close relative to Grade 1-winner Decorated Invader. He was bought for $97,000 from the Select Sales consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

The post Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Winner Fire At Will Back To Grass, Aims For New York’s Turf Triple Series appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Friday Show Presented By Diamond B Farm’s Rowayton: Ponying Up

Trainers Mike Maker and Wesley Ward aren't the only horsemen who have encountered Thoroughbred owners who have been slow to pay their bills. In their cases, the two trainers filed suit against owners Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey alleging nearly $1 million was owned to each of them for past due training bills and purse earnings. Ken Ramsey has said he'll make good on both cases and that the lawsuits will be dropped.

In the case of Ahmed Zayat and his family's Zayat Stables – now going through bankruptcy – a host of trainers and other businesses are owed a significant amount of money.

It begs the question of how many other trainers have had to “carry” owners for extended periods of time, negotiate fees after the fact or put liens on bloodstock in order to get paid.

Watch this week's Friday Show for a discussion on this subject with Ray Paulick and Paulick Report editor in chief Natalie Voss. Bloodstock editor Joe Nevills joins the show for a retrospective on the late Sheikh Hamdan of Shadwell Stables, a Toast to Vino Rosso and some news about a new product coming next week that covers the auction front.

The post The Friday Show Presented By Diamond B Farm’s Rowayton: Ponying Up appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Two Trainers Sue Ramseys for Nearly $2 Million in Unpaid Bills

Trainers Wesley Ward and Mike Maker have filed separate lawsuits against owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey over unpaid training bills. Ward is alleging that the Ramseys piled up unpaid bills totaling $974,790. Maker claims the Ramseys owe him $905,357. The story was first reported in Paulick Report.

Ward's suit was filed last week in Jessamine Circuit Court. The Maker suit was filed a week earlier in Fayette Circuit Court.

When reached Monday by the TDN, Ken Ramsey admitted that he owes both trainers a considerable amount of money.

“The root of my problem is the fact that I bought three big horse farms over the last two years and I have a cash flow problem,” Ramsey said. “My net worth is better now than it's ever been. Overall, I am good. However, I have been delinquent and I'm not making light of the fact that I do owe these two trainers. These are the only two trainers I have left and every trainer I have ever had, over 50 of them, have all been paid in full. I never beat any of them out of anything whatsoever.”

Ramsey said that he will take out loans, using the collateral he has built up in the horse farms and other properties, and use the proceeds to pay off Maker and Ward.

“I thought I could ride this out,” he said. “I am embarrassed by this and hurt by this.”

According to Ward's filing, the Ramseys have been making regular monthly payments, but did not pay enough to keep the balance owed from escalating. In February alone, Ward billed the Ramseys for $98,657.40 for care of 30 horses. Ward lists 45 horses that he trained for the Ramseys from June, 2020 to the present. Due to being claimed or other factors, not all remain in Ward's care.

Ward is asking the court to order the Sheriff of Jessamine County to sell the Ramsey horses, with the net proceeds going to Ward to help pay off the debt.

Maker contends that a debt of $543,597 is more than 90 days overdue and that the Ramseys have been delinquent when it comes to paying their bills for about four years. Like Ward, he will seek to be repaid in part by the sale of the Ramsey horses. However, only three Ramsey horses remain in his barn and their combined value falls way short of $905,357.

The Ramseys have cut back on their stable after peaking in 2013 with 230 wins. According to Equibase, they have run 38 horses so far this year with five wins for earnings of $112,115. Four of the wins came in lower level maiden claiming races at Turfway Park. They have used numerous trainers over the years, but all of their 2021 starters were trained by either Ward or Maker.

The Ramseys have won the Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding owner four times, in 2004, 2011, 2013 and 2014. They were named outstanding breeder in 2013 and 2014. Their best horse was Kitten's Joy, who earned over $2 million. He became a standout sire for the Ramseys, who stood him at their Nicholasville, Ky. Farm until he was relocated to Hill 'n' Dale in 2018.

The post Two Trainers Sue Ramseys for Nearly $2 Million in Unpaid Bills appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Ramseys Hit With Two Civil Suits Seeking Nearly $2 Million In Unpaid Training Bills

Multiple Eclipse Award-winning owner/breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey have been hit with a second lawsuit from one of their trainers while in the process of settling a separate suit filed last week by another. Wesley Ward filed suit against the Ramseys in Jessamine County Circuit Court March 19, while Mike Maker filed suit in Fayette Circuit Court a week earlier. Each case centers around just under $1 million in delinquent training bills.

Ward alleges that the Ramseys owe $974,790.40 in unpaid training bills, trainer's portion of winning purses, and interest. Invoices attached to Ward's suit show balances stretching back to June 2020. Although Ward concedes Ramsey has made payments in the months since, with one $50,000 payment days before the lawsuit was filed, the balance has remained in the high six figures throughout that period as training bills continue to mount.

Maker's suit alleges the Ramseys have been delinquent on training bills in his case for “almost four years” and their current balance owed to him is $905,357.29 – down from the $1.25 million they owed last summer. Maker's suit stated the couple promised to pay him in full by the end of 2020, but that did not happen. According to the complaint, Maker said $543,597.26 is more than 90 days past due.

When reached by phone last week, Ramsey said he was surprised to learn Maker had filed suit against him and was eager to work out a deal to pay Maker in full in exchange for the suit being withdrawn. As of press time, Maker's suit remained open per digital court records.

“I thought we had things worked out and I thought I had a schedule to get things worked out on,” said Ramsey, citing his long-standing relationship with the trainer. “I'm shocked. I didn't think he'd file a lawsuit because my assets well exceed what I owe him, by far.

“It's not that I'm not paying, it's just that I guess I'm not paying fast enough. I have never beaten anybody out of a dime.”

Ward and Maker both filed UCC-1 financing statements with the Kentucky Secretary of State to create liens against the horses which had racked up the unpaid invoices. Maker placed liens on 27 horses, while Ward placed liens on a separate group of 44 horses. Both trainers have had some of those horses leave their possession through retirement or claiming, with Maker down to just three still in his barn: Artie's Rose, Risk Manager, and Telephone Talker. Ward's suit seeks a court order to sell the horses named in his lien, with proceeds being applied to the unpaid balance, as well as any ongoing expenses from his day rate of $110.

The Ramseys have won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner four times (2004, 2011, 2013, and 2014) and the award for Outstanding Breeder twice (2013 and 2014). Since 2000, Equibase reports the couple has won 2,217 races from 9,790 starts for total earnings of more than $97 million. Their annual earnings have fallen from their peak in 2013 of over $12 million, and last year the stable brought in $2.3 million from 274 starts. Their Ramsey Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., was the longtime base for the operation's homebred and centerpiece stallion, Kitten's Joy, who relocated to Hill 'n' Dale in 2018.

Last year, Maker was also one in a long line of horsemen who were carrying outstanding balances by Zayat Stables. Ahmed Zayat filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in September 2020, listing an outstanding balance of $120,921.88 to Mike Maker among other creditors.

Maker trained a number of the Ramseys' graded stakes winners, including Vicar's In Trouble, International Star, Oscar Nominated, Admiral Kitten, Al's Gal, Kitten's Dumplings, Furthest Land, and Shining Copper.

Ward has trained graded stakes winners Artie's Princess, Emotional Kitten, Holiday for Kitten, and Pleasant Prince for the Ramseys. Ward was also tasked with accomplishing Ramsey's goal of getting a winner at Royal Ascot, which Ramsey has yet to attain.

The post Ramseys Hit With Two Civil Suits Seeking Nearly $2 Million In Unpaid Training Bills appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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