Month Published:
Jan/Feb 2010
By:
Ken Schneider For most Thoroughbred racing enthusiasts, the face of racing are the people they see when they venture to the races.
The jockeys, trainers and owners have high profiles. In large televised races, it’s not uncommon to see interviews and features with prominent jockeys and trainers, but the infrastructure of horse racing goes much deeper. What they don’t see are the breeders’ and the other professionals that keep the sport moving.
One of the most prominent men in the background is Attorney Mike Meuser of Lexington, Kentucky. Mike’s sole practice is equine law and he is one of the best at it. His work ranges from litigation to stallion contracts. He’s represented some of the most prominent people in the business. Some of his star clients include Jack Wolf of Starlight Stable, Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm, Ashford Stud, Calumet Farm, Crestwood and many others.
Although many professionals in the horse industry sort of gravitate there, Mike is in the business because he loves it.
“It’s the greatest industry with some of the most incredible personalities” Meuser states from his office on Short Street. “Every day is different; the challenges immense”.
Mike’s prominent role in the racehorse industry defies his beginnings. He grew up in Illinois and his passion was music not horses. As the oldest of six children he had a scholarship in music to Indiana University. When the family moved, Mike went to Lexington to study at the University of Kentucky as a political science and journalism major. His grades were excellent and he decided to enter law. He graduated in 1980. Mike then began working for the law firm of Miller Griffin and Marks in Lexington.
For the first five years of his new career, his specialty was criminal law. By 1984 he represented some local bloodstock agents. When people in the industry saw that he had an affinity and talent for the work, additional clients started coming his way.
An important case that shaped his future was “Cloverfield Farm vs. Chernick and Fasig-Tipton”. Meuser and his firm represented the buyer who was awarded punitive damages in the purchase of a broodmare,” Efforts were made to conceal her fitness as a broodmare,” said Mike.
Probably the pivotal case in Meuser’s emergence as a litigator of sales disputes was the case of “Northridge Farm vs. Israel Cohen”. That case won by Mike reaffirmed the responsibility of the buyer to complete their “due diligence” when purchasing a yearling under the auction conditions of “no warranty”. Surprisingly, because of that case, the industry went in the opposite direction and enacted new safeguards to protect buyers, including the creation of the repository where x-rays are readily available. More recently, Mike spent over two years working on the Narvick International, Emanuel de Seroux, Jess Jackson litigation in San Diego.
When a dispute arose between leading owners Ken Ramsey and Paul Reddem, Mike represented Ramsey. When Bob Baffert and Mike Pegram needed help with legal issues over the retirement of REAL QUIET, Mike Meuser was their man.
Much of Mike’s practice is Stallion work. He represents both buyers and sellers of stallions and stallion prospects. He is also heavily involved in the now common practice of shuttling stallions to breed in the southern hemisphere. Much of his practice concerns veterinary issues in racehorses and racehorse prospects.
Mike also serves on the Planning Committee of The National Equine law Conference held each year in Lexington and is a frequent lecturer.
Lets not forget the horsemen that Mike so ably represents. As one trainer told me, “If I have to appear in front of the Stewards or The Racing Commission, there is no one I want representing me other than Mike Meuser”.
When Mike is not at his office, in his box at Keeneland or at the sales, you can find him pursuing his other passions with the same amount of vigor. He sits on the advisory board of the Central Kentucky Riding For Hope Foundation and The Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation. He has also served as its president three times and currently chairs the committee overseeing the restoration of The Pope Villa, an 1812 house designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, architect of the U.S. Capitol. He is a man who believes in giving back to the community and does so every chance he gets.
When Meuser finally gets away from his duties he devotes his time to his family and his beloved music.
His wife Erica is a respected artist and printmaker with a successful studio in Lexington. Mike has just embarked on a car restoration project, a 1971 Mercedes 280 SL, with his sons, Linden and Ashlin.
If you want to get Mike really talking, the subject is music. A classically trained musician, Mike likes to play rock and has played with a group called The Quack for 20 years. He also plays trombone for Lexington blues master Tee Dee Young. Mike organized a horn section, wrote the music and just finished recording on Young’s latest album and accompanying music video.
A new musical career for Mike Meuser? I don’t think so. There are too many people in the Thoroughbred industry that need his expertise badly. As one of his recent clients remarked,” when you need an expert in the field with real integrity, Mike’s your man.”
It’s very unfortunate that so many negative things are written about horse racing. We hear too often about the drug users, the cheaters who hurt the Thoroughbred industry’s credibility, but there are many people who are competent hardworking professionals. They don’t get the credit they deserve and the industry could not function without them.
Mike Meuser is a perfect example of that. We need to focus more on people like him than on the negative aspects.
By: Ken Schneider
Ken is a veteran Racehorse Trainer and Industry Executive.