US trainers return to court to collect debt from Royal Ascot regular Ken Ramsey

Two trainers who filed lawsuits in March to collect on $1.88 million in outstanding debts with owner-breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey are back in court after agreed-upon payment schedules were not honoured.

Mike Maker filed a suit against the Ramseys on March 12 in Fayette County to recover $905,357 owed for the training costs from 54 horses. Seven days later, Wesley Ward filed a suit in Jessamine County seeking to recover $974,790 accumulated from the training of 45 horses.

Soon after these suits were filed, Ramsey told BloodHorse in March he had a cash flow problem and admitted he owed the money to Maker and Ward.

"It is a just debt and I'm not trying to get out of it; never tried to get out of it," Ramsey said at the time. "I have paid on what I owe."

The Ramseys initially responded to the suits by agreeing to make monthly payments of $100,000 to Maker and agreed to make similar monthly payments to Ward, according to an attorney familiar with Ward's case.

In a July 14 court filing, Maker said Ramsey initially made efforts to pay down the debt. The trainer received $87,531 around March 17, $40,000 around March 19, $131,290 around April 15, and $160,000 around May 14. Then payments stopped in June and nothing has been paid for July.

The Ramseys still owe Maker $505,385 and because the trainer claimed to have seen no indication of when or if he's going to get paid, he filed on July 14 for a summary judgment from the Fayette County Circuit Court.

"In fact, Mr. Ramsey has admitted that all allegations in the complaint are true," stated Maker's motion. "Accordingly, there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment against the defendants in the amount of $505,385 plus post-judgment interest at the statutory rate ... attorneys' fees and costs."

A hearing regarding Maker's motion has been scheduled for July 30 with Judge Julie Goodman.

Ward reportedly received one six-figure payment against his outstanding debt with Ramsey and some minor amounts before the payments stopped coming. The trainer is expected to file his own motion for summary judgment next week in Jessamine Circuit Court.

While Maker no longer has any of Ramsey's horses in his stable, Ward does and took the extra step last week of filing for an agister's lien on the Ramseys' horses in his care. This lien in essence gives ownership to Ward and prevents Ramsey from taking them. Ward filed his lien in Fayette County because the horses are stabled at Keeneland.

The Ramseys have won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner four times, and the award for Outstanding Breeder twice, but a much-desired Royal Ascot triumph has eluded them since their first foray in 2001.

They have endured a couple of near-misses, with Steaming Home second in the Windsor Castle Stakes in that first venture, while Cannonball filled the same spot in the Golden Jubilee Stakes, as it was, in 2009.

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