Transcript of Zayat, Allen on HRTV
 

AHMED ZAYAT

Carolyn Conley: Well, Ahmed, actually the winner, though, came from 20 lengths out of it in the Kentucky Derby. It was a track that a lot of horses didn't like and we have heard in Derbies gone by that they did scratch the surface and open it up, something we didn't see this year. But as we progress toward the Preakness Stakes, a filly named Rachel Alexandra certainly has taken center stage. Now her previous owner said the Derby is for the stallions of the world of Thoroughbred racing to showcase themselves and they opted to stay with females. Now her new connections of Stonestreet Stable are considering taking on the boys in the Preakness Stakes. What are your feelings about that?


Ahmed Zayat: "I think she is a phenomenal filly, almost a super filly. I was there with my family, it was breathtaking. It was 'Wow, Wow!' Very, very impressive. Beautiful filly, you know, her connections did an incredible job of trying to do things. But what was most impressive for me was actually her previous owner. I don't know if you heard, uh, what he said, but in his moment of glory after 20 lengths plus (inaudible) they asked him should, is the filly now going to go against the boys or go on the Triple Crown and the man is such horseman, I was very impressed, and he said, 'Listen, you know we know what she's made out of, she's special, but also I understand the business and the game and I have a lot of respect for it,' and you can go and hear his words again, 'and I don't believe, I believe that the Triple Crown are designed to showcase our potential star 3-year-olds and our stallions and I don't think she belongs there.'"

"Him saying that gave me a different dimension. I'm very competitive. I want to go and beat her. But actually today in the morning I got a phone call that I wasn't familiar with the phone number of that particular person and that person keep calling and, lo and behold, it was the owner of the Derby winner, Mine That Bird, and he said, 'Mr. Zayat, you don't know me, I'm Mark Allen. Listen I have a request from you. I think this race is between me and you. You'd have been the favorite if Rachel Alexandra is not in the field and I'm looking for vindication that my colt was not a fluke and I'm sure you are looking to beat us also. I think this match is between us, it's a rivalry. I'm going to be entering a colt, an A.P. Indy colt, to fill the field. I understand you are the number one owner in number of nominations -- 22 colts -- can you please help us. It's good for the game.'"

"And I felt that uh, and he gave me a kind of story that really moved my heart. His trainer actually got sick. I don't know if you know this, he was on crutches he actually went back because he has an infection in his leg. He said, 'Listen, my trainer is gone and I also have my jockey being taken away from me and I don't know if I'm going, even can run in the Preakness like that. I feel like I want to compete in the Triple Crown, I want to have my colt prove himself, you want to prove yourself, can you help me?'"

Conley: So what you're saying here, Ahmed, is that Mark Allen called you and said, "Please enter your horse in the Preakness Stakes. Our intentions are to race against you one more time and we'd like to exclude the filly from the field since she's a late nomination."


Zayat: "Frankly, yes, and let me just also add more. I have been bombarded -- my racing manager, myself, by fans, by owners, by others saying, 'You know this is all about business, this is stallions. Listen a gelding won the Kentucky Derby. Now possibly a filly. Uh, you've spent tens of millions of dollars you should really -- as someone who's really active in the business, you have to think of the industry as a business. And for all of us.' In fact the presenters from Birdstone's owner, Mrs. Whitney, called and saying now she's also very unhappy about the situation and she's going to be entering a colt also in the Preakness just to make sure that her stallion is being represented and gets his."

Peter Lurie: Wow.

Conley: That's amazing.

Zayat: "So it's getting very, very interesting the situation."


Conley: It is. So now you said Mark Allen would enter a colt as well as Mine That Bird?

Zayat: "Correct."

Conley: "And that you would in fact enter Pioneerof the Nile? And Marylou Whitney would enter a colt as well?"


Zayat: "Correct. I think the field will fill and perhaps overfill and people are pleading with me to enter more of my colts to make sure that would happen."


Conley: Interesting.

Zayat: "And the more I'm hearing fans, I'm hearing people, I mean, and debating it, I'm probably going to do that."

Conley: Ahmed, you raised a very interesting point this morning thank you for sharing that exclusively right here on HRTV.

MARK ALLEN

Conley: Right now we have Mark Allen joining us by telephone. Mark, nice to talk to you again, welcome to RaceDay America.

Mark Allen: "Thank you."


Conley: "Great to have you here and last I saw you we were all standing around the Barbaro statue as you all handed out roses from the blanket. That was a very sportsmanlike gesture."


Allen: "Yes ma'am, it was fun."


Conley: "I'm sure the whole experience was mind-boggling to say the least. Today the revelation that Ahmed Zayat gave us here on RaceDay America was the fact that y you would enter not only Mine That Bird in the Preakness Stakes but perhaps a colt as well, as he would enter Pioneerof the Nile, the idea being to perhaps exclude Rachel Alexandra from the Preakness field because she is a supplemental entry."

Allen: "Yes ma'am."

Conley: So you will in fact enter Mine That Bird plus one other colt. Who is that colt, Mark?

Allen: "He's an A.P. Indy horse me and Joe Merrick are partners on. You know he's still a maiden but this horse does have talent. He's just coming into himself like Mine That Bird was."

Conley: What's his name?

Allen: "It's Indy Express."

Conley: Indy Express?

Peter Lurie: Mark, as far as Mine That Bird goes, how did Mine That Bird come out of the race and what is the projection for Pimlico?

Allen: "You know he came out of that race better than when he went into it. He's training better. He acts like he needed that race to really be on top of his game. Chip's done a heck of a job with this horse."

Conley: Ahmed Zayat also told us this morning that your trainer, Chip Woolley, not only has the broken leg and foot that he received from that motorcycle accident but that he is sick from that, perhaps from an infection. What is in fact the situation with his foot, Mark?

Allen: "You know, he does have an infection in it. We're trying to get him to lay up and take care of it but it's hard to do 'cause he wants to be down there all time with this horse. You know, I mean it ain't like it's gonna kill him or nothin' but he does have an infection."

Conley: Mark when did that start? When did the infection begin?


Allen: "I think it began two or three days ago. I seen it yesterday; it ain't something you want to look at."

Conley: Yeah, and I'm sure very uncomfortable as he tries to manage things in the barn. Where is Chip right now?

Allen: "He's here in Louisville."

Conley: "In Louisville? Will he then drive the horse down to Pimlico on Tuesday with a police escort as we've read about?"


Allen: "Yeah, you bet. You know and we'll have a truck following him in case something happens to one truck we've got another one to back it up. So, uh, we'll have that trailer being pulled and a truck following him."

Lurie: Mark, last week when we were here in Los Angeles, and again congratulations from everyone here in Los Angeles for your victory, we were discussing the idea of higher elevation at where he was training. Do you feel that played anything in a way in giving him extra oomph down the stretch where a lot of the other horses were getting tired?

Allen: "You know, I think that had a little bit to do with it. If you're coming from a lower elevation and going up, I know it definitely affects you 'cause I've done it a lot with Quarter Horses. And training in higher elevation and coming down I truly think it helps, I truly think it helps."

Conley: Mark how do you respond to allegations that this perhaps is not a sportsmanlike gesture to exclude Rachel Alexandra from the field by entering more horses that are Triple Crown nominated?


Allen: "Well, um, I'll tell ya'. I don't think that we caused the uproar. I think that...this filly being bought and them supplementing her into this race caused the uproar. You know and I'd just like Calvin back on my horse 'cause it's his horse and I'd like, you know, Pioneerof the Nile and Papa Clem and them, they think they can outrun me on a good track and they want a shot at it. With the same, you know, with the same riders and everything. Heck, I'm glad to give 'em a shot at it.

Lurie: Mark, have you had an opportunity or at least has your trainer had an opportunity to talk to Calvin Borel since this thing went down?

Allen: "No we've talked to his agent, you know. You know, Calvin... Calvin's in a bad spot, he's in a bad spot and, you know, hopefully he'll ride this horse and I'm pretty sure that if she ain't in it he'll ride this horse."


Conley: Mark, if he doesn't who will? Mark?

Allen: "If he doesn't, probably Mike Smith."

Conley: Thanks. alright, well thanks for joining us today on "RaceDay America." Interesting as we are just six days out of the Preakness Stakes. We'll keep in touch and see how this all plays out.

Allen: "Thank you ma'am."

I think the only thing Jess can do now is purchase POTN and Bird Crap..

Why are Carolyn Conley and Peter Lurie not addressing Zayat and Allen as the low class cowards they are?


really pathetic journalism



you have an owner on in that situation, and they are openly admitting to hurting the game for their own best interests , and you don't bring that to their attention?? You don't make them uncomfortable, and address them directly on the matter?



all 4 of them are devoid of heart
(I apologize for any insensitivities regarding sexual preference - to which i could care less about and which don't deserve the stigma that these 4 slugs should feel from any fan of the sport.)

yo, on the real, Zayat is the butt of many a joke, and Mark Allen is a Nobody.

no one respects Zayat,,, so many times has he been taxed at sales


and Lurie and Conley are intimidated by these guys?? WTF?

we need a do-over with some racing journalists that actually have some heart

Its not that big a deal really.

Once Rachel Alexandra ran up the track, you know that Jess Jackson et al. would have decided that maybe that ankle chip of hers was bugging her more than they thought and that they would do surgery and she'd miss the rest of the year. Now we at least get a couple of more starts before a similar scenario takes place in the Travers or Haskell. And instead of the vet that passed her on prepurchase inspection getting sued it will be Zayat and the rest of the goon squad.

Wow. I don't mind anyone sticking it into Jess Jackson's craw.

Mark Allen is delusional
"I think this race is between me and you."



And Zayat is a worm for using the "stallion showcase" logic to indirectly make his case while at the same time pinning the idea on another party. That other party is Mine That Bird's owner.
Mine that Bird is a GELDING - meaning he only has slightly more balls than Peter Lurie

Not exactly a surprise. Just shows Mark Allen is staying true to form. I know there's a business element everyone's well aware of but I thought more of Mrs. Whitney than that just from things in the past like when she took back one of the horses she bred who'd been found in a kill pen or something, Cviano a half brother to Birdstone. You'd also think she'd know it's assuming a lot that Mine That Bird wouldn't face stiff competition just for 2nd place even if Rachel did run and dominate. I haven't met her though. Maybe there's a point where business decisions take over for sportsmanship for her beyond what I'd have anticipated.

Does anybody know of any possible argument that "properly nominated" per the Preakness rules might not exclude a supplement? The language supposedly isn't as definitive as the Derby's is why I ask. Who gets in and in what order is kinda screwy here.

Can I ask what you think of this Steve?

Hey who gave Jwkniska access to Bobby Fischer's account?!

sorry about that , i changed my original post.

what is your opinion of the topic?

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...t-block-rachel Check it out. Looks like the person causing most of the drama now is Mrs. Whitney. I love how Zayat's all about 'playing by the rules' or whatever. Uh dude, see the rules say you can supplement a horse, and they also would give Rachel enough graded earnings to've made the Derby field so it's not like she didn't earn it as you put it. I love how the president of the Jockey Club's cracking some heads. I bet some folks are wishing they'd kept their mouths shut about their lil plot.

Oh good, now we can all talk about what a great and sporting guy Zayat is for being above all this and not doing it. What a piece.

This would be one of the saddest moves in recent history if she gets left out because people fill the field because they're afraid of losing to her. What happened to good, old fashioned, ducking races you couldn't win?

Can't win the Preakness because your horse is no good? Turn it into a tough NW1X...good thinking. I hope MTB's connections and Whitney get all the terrible misfortune and bad racing karma they possibly can if they do this.

And without General Quarters in the race, I needed someone to root home for last. Now at least I have an idea who I'd prefer to see cross the wire last...who knew I'd ever say that about a Derby winner?

BF, that's what I think about this.

This whole thing is....ah......:zz: :zz: :zz: :zz:

:tro: :tro:

This kind of explains why Wooley still has Borel listed as MTB's rider pending what happens Wednesday.

:rolleyes:

:rolleyes::wf

:tro:

yeah, he's not naming another rider on the off chance he gets to keep borel.

i think zayat should let rachel show whether she 'belongs there' or not...

if he doesn't want to enter one of his fillies, so be it. it's not up to him to decide whether someone else should do the same. as for marylou whitney, birdstone made his mark by having a derby winner. yeah, it would look good to have a tc on your resume-but it wouldn't look so good if (and it's a huge if) mine that bird somehow (lol) managed to win it, but the horse that's arguably the best 3 yo out there was kept out. you want to be the best? then BEAT the best.

oh they're all just swell folks - maybe have missed it but have heard no mention of this, even involves the bizaare 2008 Breeders Cup runaway juror twist :zz:

If it weren't for the plea deal that his dad, former Veco chief executive Bill Allen, made with federal prosecutors, Mark Allen might not have been in the winner's circle Saturday at the Kentucky Derby, celebrating the victory of his thoroughbred Mine That Bird and a $2 million purse.

Bill Allen, in pleading guilty in 2007 to three counts related to his central role in the Alaska public corruption scandal, won immunity from federal criminal charges for Mark Allen.

*****

Mine That Bird indirectly figured into one of the strangest events in the Stevens trial. After the jurors began deliberating, one of them, Marian Hinnant, suddenly skipped town. Initially she told the judge her father had died, but then admitted she had a ticket to see the Breeders Cup, a major thoroughbred stakes race Santa Anita Park near Los Angeles.

http://http://www.adn.com/news/politics/veco/story/781355.html

If they purposely fill up the race removing her
from the field then I dont get to see her
run against a better horses.

And that sucks.

Those that look at a race totally from a betting
perspective may have a diff. view. If one wants
to view a race purely from a competitive point
of view, it would absolutely blow if she did not
get to run.

We have already lost a number of good horses
that would have added excitement to the triple
crown races for reasons out of anyones control.

" Does our sport need another Eight Belles? We all know what happened to Rags to Riches after her race in the Belmont. We all know what happened to Ruffian. I did not want to have that part of it on my watch."


this was some of zayats justification for attempting to keep rachel out of the race. i have to say i completely disagree with his contention that running females vs males can have this type of effect on a filly.


i am happy tho to know that he has finally changed his mind about entering a horse that has no business in the race to keep out a horse who absolutely deserves a shot.

i remember that juror getting in trouble, and facing a contempt of court charge. didn't realize it was part of this case til you posted all that. wow.

These two freaking cowards make me sick!! :mad: They dont want to risk having there butts handed to them by a filly, so they have the nerve to try to get on their high horse and use Ruffian and Eight Belles as examples???? WTF, Could someone please explain to these idiots that Eight Belles broke down AFTER the damn race !!!! How the hell does she know she is running against boys, unless they are hitting on her in the post parade??? :{>: I would have alot more respect for them if they just said "Look, that filly is a bad @#%&^^%, and we dont want her kicking our butts"!!

supposedly allen is doing this so he can 'get his rider back'. i wonder how calvin would feel, whether he'd want to ride back for the guy, if he stoops to this level to keep out the filly?

Shut the f.uck up, you devoid of hearts.

I dont think its to keep Calvin, its cause he is scared sh*tless of Rachel!!! Must make her connections feel pretty good that these grown men are begging people to enter crappy horses to keep her out. Then they try to get on their high horse and use the "were concerned for her safety" crap, when all they are worried about is their horse getting beat by a filly. Hey guys its called race fixing, get over it, ur gonna get beat by a girl!!!:D

What?

So she was a friend of the Allen's? Who goes to the Breeders Cup from Alaska? If she knew them, she should be doing time.

Shady, shady, shady.

it wasn't my opinion that they were doing it to keep calvin, it's what mark allen said. (Allen) said, 'Listen, my trainer is gone and I also have my jockey being taken away from me and I don't know if I'm going, even can run in the Preakness like that.

i don't know that the juror was a friend-she had lied to the judge and said her dad was sick, and that was why she had to leave. she didn't want to miss the bc. so, bad enough she wiggled out of jury duty, but she lied to the judge to get out of it.

no, they're just trying to save the filly, and racing, from themselves. :rolleyes: ouija board has no idea how lucky she is, that she escaped death so many times.

i wonder if anyone has stats out there to show if there's a different percentage of injuries when fillies race colts vs racing other fillies. it would be nice to have proof that it's not any riskier to race vs the opposite sex than vs females.

You have to love racing, buy a horse for 10 million, and you cant run her because they are going to run a bunch of dogs due to crazy rules keeping the best horse out of the race.

Seriously, it would be tough to make this stuff up. Gotta love the sport..err game that this is.

In the article MTB is reffered to as a colt , uhm when did he become fully intact again?

I was wishing someone would grow a pair. I suppose it's only fair it would be the Derby winner.