Curlin Ownership Hearing Today

While most of the news about Curlin won Horse of the Year honors last night, and the fact that majority owner Jess Jackson said he plans to race the colt in 2008, don't overlook the hearing today that could help resolve the ownership issues around the colt.

At 2 p.m. today in Frankfort, Judge Roger Crittenden, a state appointed receiver, will decide if the 20 percent of the horse that were controlled by jailed attorney's William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham, Jr. should be sold. As soon as there is a decision in Frankfort, I will provide an update.

If a foreclosure is ordered by Crittenden, this would mean that the Boone County sheriff would put the 20 percent ownership up for public sale, with any proceeds from the sale going toward settlement of a multi-million settlement for the fen-phen clients.

Gallion and Cunningham are attorneys who, along with Melborne Mills, Jr., are accused of bilking their more than 400 fen-phen clients out of $64 million owed to them from a $200 million class-action settlement. The two men bought Curlin -- with funds that were apparently fraudulently kept from the fen-phen clients -- as a yearling for $53,000 in 2005 and then sold 80% of the colt for a reported $3.5 million after he broke his maiden at Gulfstream in February last year.

In November a judge turned the 20% ownership over to the fen-phen clients-- this foreclosure could end the outstanding question surrounding the ownership issues.