Lawsuit claims broodmare sold at Keeneland is actually a male

'Kept True' is a New York-bred stakes winner who ran against females

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – A lawsuit filed in Fayette Circuit Court in Lexington contends a broodmare sold at Keeneland is actually a male, according to the BloodHorse.

The report says ‘Kept True’ was sold at the Keeneland Horses of All Ages Sale in January 2021 for $150,000 as a 5-year old broodmare prospect.  The buyer was Michelle and Albert Crawford’s Crawford Farms near Lexington.

On the track, ‘Kept True’ had five wins, two seconds, and two third place finishes in 14 career starts and earned $323,659 running against females at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga in New York, according to the report.

According to Crawford’s lawsuit, ‘Kept True’ was certified as suitable for mating; however, Crawford’s veterinarian reported obvious abnormalities in the horse’s reproductive organs, according to the BloodHorse.

Dr. Jeremy Whitman concluded the horse doesn’t have any ovaries.  That conclusion was confirmed by the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, according to the report.  A karyotype test report from Texas A&M revealed a genetic condition that gives the horse the appearance of a female horse, but the chromosomes of a male horse, making ‘Kept True’ unsound for breeding, according to the report.

Crawford sued after the horse’s owners, Treadway Racing Stable, refused to rescind the Keeneland sale and reimburse the cost of the horse’s care, according to the report.

The suit names owner-breeder Jeff Treadway, sale consignor Hidden Brook, Keeneland, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, which issued the certificate of reproductive status as to whether the horse was pregnant, or if not pregnant, suitable for mating, and Dr. Karen Wolfsdorf, who signed-off on the certificate of reproductive status which is required by Keeneland for horses offered as broodmare prospects, according to the report.

Keeneland filed a motion to be dismissed from the lawsuit, which was granted by Fayette Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Bunnell, according to the report.

Consignor Hidden Brook filed a motion for summary judgment, which Judge Bunnell granted, ruling in essence that Crawford’s claim against Hidden Brook is barred because it alleges a claim of tort (negligent misrepresentation) in a case governed by contractural rules set out in Keeneland’s condition of sale, according to the report.  Crawford appealed that decision to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, according to the BloodHorse.

Hagyard and Dr. Wolfsdorf also filed a motion for summary judgment, but Judge Bunnell denied the motion, leaving the claim open for further litigation, according to the report.  A cross-claim filed by Hidden Brook against the veterinarian defendants is undecided, but would be rendered a moot point if the summary judgment in its favor is upheld, according to the report.  Jeff Treadway’s attorney filed an answer to the complaint by denying any liability.  That claim is unresolved, according to the report.