I'm kinda cross-posting this, so some will have deja vu.

Yesterday, I was at the ATBA sale. I saw several people, including Toni and we
had a good time looking at horses and I was happy she got the horse she drove up
here, for.

Later, I sat with a trainer friend of mine who purchased two broke 2yos of
indistinction, but possibly some decent ability, paying $1700 and $2100,
respectively. The first one, a filly by Nuthin out of Nobody by
Shuddabeengelded, had the hammer fall at $1,000, just as both my friend and
another bidder were spotted. Ok. They reopened the bidding and it proceeded to
the $1700 mark, at which time the hammer again fell. Apparently, the winner of
the first hammer fall bid $1800 and was told by her bid spotter that she was
locked out and proceeded to argue with him (I'm not sure why). Meanwhile, my
friend's bid spotter looked directly at my friend, pointed him out to the
receipt girl (for lack of a better term), who took my friend's picture and had
him sign the receipt.

After the sale, said friend goes to settle up and another one of my friends
offers to transport the horses over to the track for him. They load the colt
and wait for the filly. Word comes that they are investigating a bidding
dispute between my friend and the owner, et al. I go to check this out, in case
I can help because I played a minor, but somewhat significant part in the event.
Well, a sales rep, the owner of the two horses, the shut out bidder and her
husband, and my friend are busy arguing and watching the tape of the bidding
when I approach. Unfortunately, the tape was inconclusive and the bid spotters
had already left, so there was no one but me to dispute the horse owner's claim
that the $1700 bidder was some guy sitting down in front of my friend.

Long story short, the Sheriffs (or maybe it was just the Scottsdale police) were
called and four nice officers interviewed all concerned. They determined that
it was a civil manner, got my friend's money back for the filly (the colt had
left the property by then, so he couldn't cancel that sale as well), advised him
he could file a civil suit (to which my friend declined because it would cost
more than the filly was worth) and also advised him to "take the money and buy
yourself a horse from an honest man."(emphasis theirs) It turns out, the
"unsuccessful" bidders were friends of the owner, so they will end up with the
horse, after all.

The riveted audience to the proceedings, while all agreeing the filly wasn't
worth the money, agreed that my friend was getting screwed and was better off
ditching the filly anyway. The cops said the threesome changed their story to
them several times and they determined that the best result would be making this
guy haul his filly back up to northern Utah at about $2.77 a gallon (though I'm
not sure what diesel is costing right now) after having to pay the commission to
the ATBA, etc. Between other consignors who spoke to him, what the cops got out
of him and what we were told when we were looking at the horses before they
sold, it's clear this guy is either delusional or a liar (that per the cops, btw
... actually, they just called him a liar).

Now....my friend has been working with horses and such for a long time. It
won't keep him out of the business, but it sure ticked him off and he may decide
never to buy there again. One things for sure, this guy from Utah's reputation
in AZ is toast.

Vikki

----- Original Message -----
From: Pat Calloway
To: azhorseracing@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2005 10:38 PM
Subject: [azhorseracing] ATBA Sale


I wasn't able to make it. Did anyone go? How was it - any news to report?


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