Introducing
Equi Partner
JOEL B. TURNER, Esq.
FrostBrownTodd
Louisville, Kentucky
Comments on an Equine Law Practice
Recently my friend Doug Emerson (a.k.a. theprofitablehorseman.com) told me I should write a book about my experiences practicing law in the horse business over the last 27 years. His comment prompted me to give some serious thought to the idea. Below are a few of the general comments which may later be more fully discussed.
People are passionate about their horses. They want to have fun with them and to be drawn into that state of mind that spells relief from the stress and responsibilities of our fast-paced lives. Oftentimes this means that there is a lack of attention to business details (purchase agreements with a handshake or a woefully inadequate "Bill of Sale") provided by the seller instead of a proper
contract. Cleaning up legal messes is what I do. I am asked to sort out the wheat from the chaff.
One never knows what sort of issues will be presented. It is like a law school exam every day. My role is to spot the legal issues and apply the law to the facts. I have been actively involved in the horse business since the early days after my arrival in Kentucky to practice law in 1984). Before my arrival from Berkeley, California (very close to Golden Gate fields where I saw John Henry win the Golden Gate Handicap in 1984, I had owned and ridden horses all my life, but had never given much thought to the legal implications or the business opportunities. I actively trained racehorses (under the watchful eye of Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg and others who generously and patiently educated me well about the challenges of winning races), for the first several years I practiced law, arriving at the barn at Churchill Downs early to train, changing in tack rooms before heading to the office.
My law practice today runs the gamut from general equine business and tax consulting to litigation and administrative law matters before racing boards and with trade associations such as the USEF, FEI, NCHA, AQHA. In the early days, the case portfolio included simple collections cases (board, training, vet bills) and has evolved over the years to include the preparation of purchase contracts for multi-million dollar race horses, syndications of top stallion prospects and everything in between. Almost every matter touches a horse somewhere.
Some of the more interesting and challenging cases for my practice are the "in between" cases such as:
1) Dealing with horse trading issues (fraud, breach of warranty, risk of loss, fertility, mortality etc.);
2) Event liability defense (a horse actually jumped into the judges' stand at a major Saddlebred show in Lexington causing several injuries and a rash of lawsuits);
3) Lawsuits for negligent care (two top Hollywood/Las Vegas entertainers almost had a fistfight at a deposition in a case involving the death of a "foundation mare");
4) Representing riders and trainers before the hearing committee of the United States Equestrian Federation on amateur status, unsportsmanlike conduct and medication (or drug) rule violation cases;
5) Representing trainers, jockeys and owners before state Racing Boards or Commissions litigating racing disqualification cases (interference or alleged medication rules violations) with hundreds of thousands of dollars in purse money and sales value at stake.
6) Racing and breeding syndications; and
7) Tax matters including defending Hobby Loss Audits.
In the early days, my family all helped with the breeding responsibilities at our farm in Prospect. Often I was galloping one or two at the farm during the winter and racing at night at Turfway Park, which was then racing for five months of the year at night. I was able to learn the inner workings of the racing office, detention barn, licensing office and how to deal with jockey's agents, veterinarians (state regulatory and otherwise). Then after we had children, it was on to the show ring with my daughter who was an event rider for about ten years before going off to college. When she left, I took dressage lessons for the first time in my life and rode in those mini-trials, hunter paces and events myself, hoping she would come home to a "made horse" and continue to compete.
We were fortunate and bought a share in Miswaki the year before Black Tie Affair won the Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs. That was our first taste of the Breeders' Cup Stallion Awards program, but not the last. He went on to sire Champions around the world, including the winners of the Arc, (Urban Sea, the great mare which beat the boys), Japan Cup G-1 (Marvelous Crown) and the Jockey Club Coppa d'Oro, Ity. G-1, (Misil). We bought a share in Phone Trick before Favorite Trick went undefeated, won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was named two-year old champion. We owned a share in the great Storm Bird before his son Storm Cat became the leading sire, Red Ransom as a young and upcoming sire, Devils Bag when he was at his prime, Broad Brush while he was still at Gainesway, Time For a Change who tragically died before he hit his stride, Gulch, before he sired Derby winner Thunder Gulch and Dixieland Band, perhaps the most productive of them all, among others.
I just received a check from one of the last pool distributions from Dixieland Band last month-amazing! We bought him as twelve year old in 1992 and he was productive for us more than 15 years. By actually becoming an active investor in the business, I learned about all the issues. It has been a rewarding journey.
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Joel's Kipling Colt
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So what do I do for fun? The horses bring me an immeasurable amount of pleasure, particularly on the always eventful trail rides in the woods in the cooler months or on the cross country course. I love to downhill ski in the winter, and take long likes in the Rocky Mountains, the Sierras or the Cascades in the summer and fall. To do that well at my age, I continue to run and row, and lift weights I enjoy reading a wide variety of periodicals (mostly about the horse business) and books on such topics as economics, philosophy and human behavior in addition to novels from all eras
. We like to travel and have been to five of the seven continents....
South America and Antarctica are on the list!
