Thunder Ridge: Julian Carroll brings RSA to Stumbo’s Floyd County Fiefdom
Julian Carroll claims he acquired his stock as payment for legal work he did for the track:
Sen. Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort, a governor in the 1970s, also is a former co-owner of Thunder Ridge. Carroll said he acquired an ownership stake by doing more than $100,000 in legal work for the track. But Carroll said Tuesday that he and the track parted ways “years ago.” (John Cheves, “Democratic co-sponsor of casino bill is employed by horse racetrack co-owner,” Lexington Herald-Leader, February 15, 2012.)
In late November 1994, Julian Carroll owned 200 shares (6.89%) of Appalachian Racing, Inc.’s 2,903 shares then outstanding. Terrell Ross and Murray Sinclaire each owned 986 shares (i.e., each owned 34%). (Jim Jordan, “Thunder Ridge Track Owner Files Bankruptcy,” Lexington Herald-Leader, November 24, 1994.)
Carroll was instrumental in getting the racing license transferred to Prestonsburg to open Thunder Ridge:
Former Gov. Julian Carroll, who practically filibustered the Kentucky Racing Commission on behalf of a proposed harness track at Prestonsburg, did not return phone calls. Terrell Ross, one of the principal investors in that track, said through a spokesperson that he is “not ready to comment on that investment.”The newfound reticence comes after a spate of bad news about the proposed harness-racing circuit in Eastern Kentucky. For a year and a half harness horsemen battled with the Kentucky Racing Commission and thoroughbred forces in general to salvage or revive their sport in this state.
In the end Eastern Kentucky was ceded to harness racing. One group was allowed to transfer the license for Louisville Downs to Prestonsburg for a track ultimately called Thunder Ridge; another to move the Riverside Downs license from Henderson across the state to Ashland for a track to be named Mountain Meadows.
Now both Thunder Ridge and Mountain Meadows are in bankruptcy. (Jacalyn Carfagno, “E. Ky. Harness Racing Troubles Cast Doubt on Circuit’s Future,” Lexington Herald-Leader, December 4, 1994.)
Floyd County Fiscal Court Avoids State Law Requiring Construction Bids by Declaring an Emergency:
PRESTONSBURG – Facing a tight deadline, the Floyd County Fiscal Court has taken action allowing officials to avoid a state law requiring that they advertise for construction bids for a proposed harness track.
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Also, the bond underwriters who are helping the county arrange financing for the project have disclosed they are investors in the track, as has former Gov. Julian Carroll.
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Terrell Ross and Murray Sinclaire Jr., partners in Ross, Sinclaire and Associates, a Lexington bond underwriting firm, officially disclosed that they are major shareholders in Mountain Racing. The disclosure was contained in a message they sent Friday to the Floyd County Public Properties Corp., a public corporation made up of fiscal court members.The firm is helping the county sell $2.7 million in bonds to pay for the track site and for the construction of a track grandstand and a county convention center.
Carroll, who has acted as a lawyer for Mountain Racing, said he and Floyd County businessman Clyde Woods also are major shareholders. (“Floyd County to Forgo Taking Track Construction Bids,” Lexington Herald-Leader, August 22, 1993.)
The Floyd County Fiscal Court brought RSA in to help arrange financing for Thunder Ridge:
Thunder Ridge, which began as a controversial effort in 1992 to bring harness racing and intertrack wagering to Eastern Kentucky, remains controversial.Five years after it opened, ownership has been through three name changes and two bankruptcy closings. Floyd Judge-Executive Ben Hale claims everybody still considers the facility vital to Eastern Kentucky’s future in tourism, but he frets openly now over the terms of a proposed lease renewal with the track’s current owners, Appalachian Racing.
Lexington bond agents Terrell Ross and Murray Sinclaire Jr., whose company was brought into the project by local officials to help arrange financing for the project, are now the track’s majority stockholders.
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Meanwhile, Thunder Ridge’s balance sheet also shows that the track receives $180,000 a year from the state Harness Horsemen’s Association, which director Bill Napier said is earmarked to pay off the principle on a $180,000 loan that Thunder Ridge’s owners obtained from a Prestonsburg bank. (Lee Mueller, “Horses, Cars Put Facility on Fast Track,” Lexington Herald-Leader, July 27, 1998.)
Floyd County Fiscal Court’s agreement with Appalachian Racing places financial risk on Floyd County taxpayers:
The bounced checks created some concern at the courthouse in Prestonsburg, where the Floyd County Public Properties Corp. agreed in 1993 to issue $2.7 million in bonds to pay for the track site and track construction.Under an agreement with Appalachian Racing and Floyd Fiscal Court, the county would assume liability for the bond issue if the company cannot make its bond payments. (Lee Mueller, “Ex-Senator Bounces $250,000 in Checks,” Lexington Herald-Leader, February 9, 1996.)
Privileged Treatment for Politicians (even convicted politicians):
David LeMaster was a Kentucky state senator convicted of lying to the FBI in 1993, during the BOPTROT investigation. [Wikipedia Entry on BOPTROT: Link] LeMaster was not in prison, in early 1996, because he was appealing his conviction.
Julian Carroll was vice president of Appalachian Racing. Carroll was, of course, aware of LeMaster’s conviction for lying to the FBI and his BOPTROT shenanigans. Yet, when asked why on earth Thunder Ridge Racing & Entertainment Center would accept $250,000 worth of checks from anyone, Carroll explained that it was an exception to normal policy made only because: “The customer’s [LeMaster] credibility was such that the employee didn’t question them.”
(“Ex-senator’s checks to cover $250,000 worth of bets bounce,” Kentucky New Era, February 7, 1996.)
“Birthday Party” Payoff of Floyd County Judge-Executive’s Debt:
PRESTONSBURG—Floyd Judge-Executive Paul Hunt Thompson last week disposed of a $28,815 debt he had owed fiscal court since 1992, thanks in part to an unusual “birthday party” arranged for him earlier this month by House Floor Leader Greg Stumbo and others.A group of influential or wealthy Kentuckians gathered at ThunderRidge harness track in Prestonsburg about three weeks ago to sing Happy Birthday to Thompson and give him some money.
It was not his birthday—Thompson was born on Sept. 26, 1946—and it was not a large amount of money, he said. “But I appreciate it.”
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Guests said the crowd included both of Floyd County’s circuit judges; owners of First Guaranty Bank of Martin, which handles Floyd fiscal-court funds; Pikeville lawyer and coal operator Ross Harris; and Lexington bond agent Terrell Ross, the harness track’s primary owner who has employed Stumbo as his bond counsel.Stumbo declined yesterday to discuss the event in detail. “I reckon, in America, we can still go to birthday parties,” Stumbo said. (Lee Mueller, “Floyd Official Pays Debt After ‘Birthday Party’—Judge-Executive Repaid Tax Receipts Found Missing,” Lexington Herald-Leader, February 27, 2001.)
