Fayette Circuit Court

A lawsuit filed in a Kentucky court Wednesday over a disputed Standardbred auction figures to be closely watched by the Thoroughbred industry because of allegations that a Lexington Selected Yearling Sales Company (LSYS) auctioneer belatedly realized he had dropped the hammer on a $15,000 sale without respecting a $45,000 reserve price that should have been in effect. According to the civil complaint initiated by the New Jersey-based Val D'Or Farms, which thought it had rightfully purchased the filly, named Philly's Sting, for $15,000 via proxy bid, the auctioneer purportedly tried...

The New York lending firm that last month initiated a $23-million lawsuit against Ahmed Zayat and his financially troubled Zayat Stables, LLC, has broadly amended its civil complaint in a Kentucky court. As of Tuesday, the suit now additionally targets 10 prominent bloodstock individuals and entities that the plaintiff alleges played a role in the "fraudulent scheme" orchestrated by Zayat family members "to sell at a steep discount several millions of dollars of Zayat Stables' assets" that had been pledged as collateral for $30 million in loans. The wide-ranging updated...