Tag: owner

Flightline, Born From The Heart of a Lyon

Within minutes of Flightline crossing the wire in another jaw-dropping victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic, the question buzzing across the racing world was whether we would get the chance to see him race again. Many argued against his retirement, saying racing needs a hero and, at least right now and for the foreseeable future, he is certainly it.

Some 16 hours later, we got our answer. The unbeaten sensation was retired to the Lane's End stallion barn, where he is already in high demand. Many were saddened to see their hero ride off into the sunset (though I have no doubt he will remain in the headlines for many years to come). However, what those people don't realize is racing still has the hero it needs, and her name is Jane Lyon.

First of all, without Jane, there is no Flightline. Along with her trusted team, Jane picked out his dam Feathered and, in true Jane Lyon fashion, fought off all comers to secure the mare she wanted. The Arkansas native and her brain trust chose Tapit for the mare's 2017 breeding and on March 14, 2018, Flightline was born in a deep bed of straw at Lyon's beautiful Summer Wind Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky. I'm sure Lyon was right there to towel the colt off and mark him with her lipstick.

It took more than choosing the right mare and stallion to create Flightline. It was also the top-notch care, extreme attention to detail and, most importantly Jane and her giant heart. She loves every single animal on her property with everything she has, especially her foals, who all get plenty of carrots, kisses and sweet words from their breeder throughout their life at Summer Wind. Jane keeps track of them all long after they leave the farm and welcomes them back home if they ever need a soft place to land.

Jane makes sure everyone in her employ is aware of the kindness she expects her horses to be shown. She always says you can teach horses with sternness and punishment or with love and kindness, and she chooses the latter. Her outlook and endless devotion create horses who are good-minded, very people friendly, smart and kind. Flightline has been described to have all these attributes.

I know what you're thinking. There are plenty of owners and breeders who love their horses and are kind to them. You're right. But I assure you, none of them are like Jane Lyon.

Jane is a bright light in an industry that has been plagued with darkness, especially over the last few years. She always says I oversell her, or I'm biased, when I describe her to others, but I have yet to find one person who disagrees with me. Jane is as kind and generous to people as she is to her animals, always offering a kind word and her signature million-dollar smile to everyone she meets.

Jane happily shares her farm, elite broodmares and regally bred foals with any horse lover, which is how I came to know her. The first time I spoke to Jane was a phone interview after American Pharoah won the Triple Crown. It was just two years into my career, and we had a lovely, 30-minute conversation about her pride and joy Littleprincessemma, after which I realized my recorder had missed it all. Embarrassed, I called back, and Jane graciously went through it all again. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jane a few more times over the next few years, and she was equally gracious each time, always remembering my name. In 2018, the opportunity came to do a story that would bring me to Summer Wind, a dream come true, and she welcomed me with open arms.

The first time I stepped foot on Summer Wind, a farm I now know as well as my own neighborhood, it was just six weeks after Flightline was born. I can't say I remember him from that day or knew I was looking at a future superstar as my focus was on his barnmate Triple Tap, a half-brother to my hero at the time, American Pharoah. What I did know however, is I was among greatness at Summer Wind, both human and equine.

Jane Lyon & Flightline | Sarah Andrew

I ended up spending the entire day with Jane, even witnessing the foaling of Princess Arabella's 2018 Union Rags colt. Long after the interview had ended, we chatted away like old friends. It is an anomaly among horsewomen. When they recognize a kindred spirit whose passion for horses burns as bright as their own, it bonds them instantly and that is what happened that fateful day in Georgetown.

Ever since that day, Summer Wind has become a regular stop on my frequent trips to Kentucky. I spend at least one day of my trip driving through the farm with Jane looking at (and feeding carrots to) racing's past and future stars, wondering which of the beautiful foals before me will be the next McKinzie, Moonshine Memories, Chasing Yesterday, Game Winner or Flightline.

While neither Jane, myself, nor anyone else could have ever predicted Flightline would become what he did, it does not surprise me that a horse like that came off Jane's farm. And, in my opinion, there is no one that deserves it more.

Jane has faced plenty of adversity throughout her life and has been tested time and time again, but that is her story to tell. What I will tell you though, is she is as fierce as she is kind and doesn't let anything keep her down for long. Jane has put in plenty of time, effort, sweat, tears and, of course, love to get to be the highly respected breeder, and person, she is today.

I've met a lot of great people over the past decade working in this industry, but there is no one like Jane. I have never seen another horsewoman of her stature lay in the stall with a motherless foal and stroke her to sleep, giving her the motherly love she was lacking, like Jane has on more than one occasion. She takes in every stray dog dropped at her doorstep and provides them a dream life. She claims any Summer Wind-bred she finds running at a cheap track somewhere and brings them home to live out their days in her retirement field. She opens her door and her heart to anyone I or any other friend asks to bring along for a one-of-a-kind day at Summer Wind (as well as the Littleprincessemma fans who reach her office manager). She cooks for three people as if she has 10 coming for dinner, so she can also feed her staff as a mother feeds her children. She will go above and beyond to help anyone in need and always puts others before herself.

Jane's most endearing quality is her humility. In fact, she will probably hate that I spent so many words gushing over her in such a public forum, but I assure you all, every one of them is true and well deserved.

The other day, a friend of mine, who has met Jane on two occasions now, said, “the world doesn't deserve Jane,” after I told her a heart-warming anecdote about Jane from earlier that day. I told the same story to another friend, whom I brought along for one of those very special Summer Wind days, and her response was, “we need more people like Jane in this world.” They both could not be more right.

Jane is one of the few truly kind, genuine and selfless people left in this world. When things in the industry get a bit dark and I begin to get discouraged, I look to Jane and see everything that is good in this sport. She gives me hope and reminds me why I love racing.

So, while I'll miss seeing Flightline on the racetrack as much as everyone else, I'm just so glad those of us in racing still have a hero among us in Jane Lyon. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what she gives us next.

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Reeves On a Roll at Saratoga

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing is enjoying a tremendous summer at Saratoga as they sit near the top of the leading owners list midway through the notoriously competitive race meet. So far, they've celebrated in the winner's circle alongside three stakes winners and an impressive debut-winning juvenile.

Dean Reeves, a native of Atlanta and the co-owner of a commercial contracting company in Georgia, formed Reeves Thoroughbred Racing with his wife Patti in 2009. The couple has campaigned a long line of Grade I performers since.

Reeves was on the Oklahoma backstretch with a smile on his face and a coffee in his hand the morning after their latest victory this week.

“It's just been crazy,” he said of their success at Saratoga. “We got off to a tremendous start right on the first weekend and we thought wow, how can we keep it going?”

City Man (Mucho Macho Man) got the ball rolling for his owners on opening weekend at the Spa with his definitive victory in the GIII Forbidden Apple S. Trained by Christophe Clement and owned in partnership with Peter and Patty Searless, the 5-year-old New York-bred has earned at least one stakes victory every year since his juvenile season, but the Forbidden Apple marked his first graded stakes score.

The win was doubly special as City Man is a son of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's 2013 GI Breeders' Cup Classic hero Mucho Macho Man.

“City Man is one of my favorite horses,” admitted Reeves. “We bought him as a 2-year-old and he has continued to get better and better. I think that right now, he's at the top of his game. He's a stunning individual and has really shown a lot of the talent that Mucho Macho Man can give them.”

Two days after Reeves got off the duck at Saratoga with City Man, Big Invasion (Declaration of War) replicated his stablemate's success with another Grade III score in the Quick Call S. The sophomore is on a brilliant win streak this year. After breaking his maiden at Gulfstream in February, he reeled off three straight stakes wins before he stepped up to graded company at Saratoga.

“Big Invasion seems to have a lot of talent,” Reeves said. “He is the kind of horse that looks like he can go five-and-a-half to seven furlongs. He seems to be able to go with whatever the pace is and then he still has that kick at the end. That makes him pretty dangerous.”

Earlier this week, Reeves went to the winner's circle with a third Saratoga stakes victor. Coming off a stakes win at Hawthorne, Isolate (Mark Valeski) led gate to wire to claim the Tale of the Cat S. by six lengths.

Reeves said he felt confident going into the race after watching the 4-year-old work four furlongs in :46 flat–best of 128–two weeks ago.

“He's been training really well,” he noted. “We needed to break well and Tyler [Gaffalione] got him out of the gate and into a great position. He had plenty left turning for home.”

Isolate's victory was cause for celebration on several accounts as it marked the 4,000th win for his trainer Tom Amoss.

“That was so special and so neat for it to be in a stakes race here at Saratoga,” Reeves said. “It couldn't have worked out any better. Tom has done a great job with Isolate and it was exciting to see him win.”

Reeves hopes that their hot streak continues as their stable's top performers prepare to return to the Saratoga starting gate.

This weekend, Big Invasion will compete in a field of seven in the five-and-a-half furlong Mahony S. on Sunday. If all goes well, Reeves said they have their eye on a trip to Keeneland for their turf sprinter this fall.

“We're really looking forward to the race on Sunday,” he said. “I think he'll be some good competition. Down the road, there are possibilities of a race at Keeneland that we would like to do prior to the Breeders' Cup. It's hard to take a 3-year-old in there against those really top horses, but we're going to play it by ear. I'm pretty confident in him.”

While Reeves was hoping to cheer on City Man in the GI Fourstardave H. this weekend, he said they opted to send the turf specialist to the Aug. 26 West Point H., where he will be defending his 2021 title.

“We were between a rock and a hard place,” Reeves explained. “We didn't have quite enough time to come back and catch [the Fourstardave]. The financially smart decision was to wait and run when we could give him more time for the West Point, which has a nice purse. As an owner I wanted to run in the Fourstardave, but fortunately Christophe and [assistant] Miguel have us in the right spot.”

Reeves said he makes a habit of relying on his trainers when it comes to mapping out his runners' racing schedules. He is quick to admit his bias as an owner and explained that his trainers remind him of the bigger picture when it comes to the bottom line.

“It helps us as owners to have trainers that are thinking about the dollars and cents,” he said. “Those types of trainers are helpful when they can just be honest with you about your stock. With Christophe, a lot of times as soon as we finish a race he has it in his head what he wants to do next. They really have thought through what they plan to do with each horse in order for it to be successful.”

Last summer, Reeves purchased a farm in Micanopy, Florida outside of Ocala. Managed by Nellie and Chetley Breeden along with Nellie's father Jimmy Gladwell, the farm allows Reeves to venture into acquiring future members of their racing stable as weanlings and overseeing their early days until they make it to training. Isolate, a $70,000 Keeneland November weanling, was one of their first purchases when they began focusing on shopping for weanlings.

Dean Reeves and Christophe Clement | Sarah Andrew

“I'm able to go in there and get a lot of value,” Reeves explained. “Patti and I come here to Saratoga for the New York-bred weanling sale. There's tremendous value and then we can put them in our program, get them to the farm and take our time with them. It gives us an advantage to really get to the horses earlier and see how they progress.”

“We've been involved in the New York-bred program for the last couple of years and that has really helped,” he added. “It's a great program. The purse money is there and we can go get some very nice New York-breds.”

As their racing stable continues to expand, so too has the number of people Reeves said are essential to its advancement.

“Our success has been because of a lot of people doing a lot hard work,” he emphasized. “We've won a lot of tremendous races, but the main thing is we're in it to have fun. Do we want to strive for those big races? Absolutely. Everyone is working hard and I think we'll have some more of those in our future.”

Winning the GI Breeders' Cup Classic with stable star Mucho Macho Man will always be an irreplaceable highlight for Reeves and his wife, but he said that there are a few races they still dream about.

“Patti wants to win the Arc de Triomphe and the Kentucky Derby, so I said, 'Okay, great. We'll put those two on the list and we'll try to win those.' We've been really blessed. The thing is, we're having a lot of fun. Win, lose or draw, we're enjoying it. It takes a team, and we've got a great one.”

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Roth Joins Woodbine Board of Directors

Owner and breeder Jaime Roth of LNJ Foxwood Stables has been appointed to the Woodbine Entertainment Board of Directors.

“Woodbine is excited to announce the appointment of Jaime to its Board of Directors,” said Christine Magee, Chair of the Woodbine Entertainment Board of Directors. “We look forward to working with Jaime and will benefit greatly from her expertise as we leverage her horse racing experience to continue to grow the sport of horse racing in Ontario, and our brand and racing product globally.”

Roth is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and holds a degree in Journalism as well as a Masters in Sports Business from New York University. She started LNJ Foxwood with her parents in 2012 and is now a Breeders' Cup Member and on the Board of Directors for Keeneland.

Woodbine Entertainment also announced that Mark Saunders is re-joining its Board of Directors after taking a short leave of absence to run in the recent Provincial Election.

Saunders is a retired police officer and most recently, the Chief of Police for the Toronto Police Service. Saunders and Roth's appointments to Woodbine Entertainment's Board of Directors is subject to regulatory approval.

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$1.5m Zayat Settlement to Make Small Dent in Overall $19m Debt

The trustee in Ahmed Zayat's personal bankruptcy case has negotiated a $1.5-million settlement to be paid by the debtor's brother, Sherif Zayat, that a court document stated will “resolve all claims and causes of action” related to the multiple mortgages on Zayat's home.

The motion for approval of that settlement, if so ordered by a judge in a New Jersey federal bankruptcy court July 6, doesn't mean the end to the complicated, now 21-month-long Chapter 7 petition by the allegedly insolvent former Thoroughbred owner and breeder.

But it does mean some of that $1.5 million might trickle down to creditors once the case gets fully settled.

As an attorney for trustee Donald Biase put it in his June 6 court filing, the settlement will “provide a benefit for the Debtor's estate, which was otherwise uncertain.”

The settlement documents were filed exactly seven years and one day after Zayat's superstar homebred American Pharoah swept the 2015 Triple Crown.

The $19-million debt question for Thoroughbred trainers, horse farms, bloodstock businesses, veterinarians, and equine transportation companies who are among the 132 entities listed as non-secured creditors still hasn't changed much.

That's because the money owed to them is in the form of “non-priority unsecured claims,” which puts those people and businesses far down in the pecking order for repayment of Zayat's debts.

Under Chapter 7 bankruptcy laws, non-priority unsecured claims are at the bottom of the hierarchy to get paid–if they get paid at all–once a trustee liquidates assets and discharge debts. They get ranked behind “secured” loans in which property is pledged as collateral, like with liens and mortgages.

The June 6 filing stated that there are five known first-, second- and third-mortgage loans secured by Zayat's 7,714-square-foot home and two adjacent lots in Teaneck, New Jersey.

However, the same document stated that three of those mortgages–which were made by friends and family members and not lending institutions or banks–would be considered by the trustee as “avoidable transfers,” which means that they can be canceled and the proceeds returned to the estate for distribution to creditors. Avoidable transfers can also lead to fraud charges.

One of those property-secured loans that Biase wrote was “avoidable” was for $500,000 from the Egypt-based Sherif Zayat.

That loan was recorded as a mortgage with a New Jersey county clerk Sept. 2, 2020–six days before Ahmed Zayat filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection while claiming that he had only $300 in cash and $14.22 in two checking accounts.

On September 14, 2020, an involuntary bankruptcy petition was initiated against Zayat's family racing business, Zayat Stables, LLC. That case is separate from this personal bankruptcy case, although many of the racing-related creditors overlap in both cases.

In a riches-to-rags case brimming with fraud allegations since its onset, Biase's filing stated that he has attempted to trace the tangled web of Zayat family finances via the “issuance of numerous Rule 2004 Subpoenas, reviewing thousands of pages of documents, including bank statements and tax returns, and conducting Rule 2004 depositions and extensive motion practice, including numerous motions to obtain access to the Debtor's real property, and the contents of same, by my appraisers.”

Beyond not having his Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection granted by the court if he isn't being truthful, Zayat faces a possible federal investigation and/or charges if the U.S. Department of Justice believes crimes have been committed.

Biase has repeatedly claimed the Zayat and his family have hindered his investigation with evasive tactics and non-compliance.

Zayat has consistently denied that he has engaged in any illegal activity or that he is hiding money. He has also insisted that neither he nor his family members are trying to obstruct the work of either of the trustees who are assigned to vet his personal finances and business operations.

The June 6 filing revealed one new nugget about Ahmed Zayat that had not been previously contended: “The Debtor has an ownership interest in a farm located in Egypt,” the Biase filing stated.

If true, it is unclear whether that alleged property interest could be also attached as an asset to pay creditors. The filing did not elaborate either way.

The settlement document, which was signed by all parties May 26, stated that “the Debtor, the Zayat Parties, and Sherif, and any entity they have an interest in shall waive any claim against the Debtor's estate [and] the Parties shall have released each other from any and all claims and causes of action and the Trustee shall be deemed to have abandoned the Debtor's estate's interest in the NJ Property pursuant to Section 554 of the Bankruptcy Code.”

Biase's filing stated that this type of settlement was preferable to continuing to fight the matter in court and/or by forcing a sale of the real estate.

“Though the Trustee believes that he would likely prevail on the claims against the Debtor, the Zayat Parties, and Sherif, the Trustee wishes to settle the claims, in order to save the Debtor's estate time and money that would otherwise be spent on litigation of the claims,” the filing stated.

“With respect to the NJ Property, even if the Trustee could obtain an offer of $4.8 million and avoid [the three mortgages with individuals] after deducting the first and second mortgages totaling $3.4 million and the broker's commission of $240,000, there would be non-exempt net equity in the approximate amount of $580,000…” the filing stated.

“This amount also does not include the Debtor's potential homestead exemption, the cost and time to seek approval under [the] Bankruptcy Code to sell the NJ Property, and the time and cost to avoid the [individual mortgages],” the filing stated.

“The Settlement Amount of $1.5 million greatly exceeds the potential non-exempt equity in the NJ Property,” the filing summed up.

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