As the first Saturday in May approaches every year, I begin my annual pre-Derby preparations. I analyze the contenders’ pedigrees, mark down the exact post time, and watch pre-race coverage with the fervor I usually give to a Columbia University event with free food. This year, though, I watched ESPN’s perfectly-coiffed anchormen with more interest than usual: my own people were getting involved in the sport!
Eskendereya, the early favorite for the greatest day in Thoroughbred racing, the Kentucky Derby, is owned by an orthodox Jew, Ahmed Zayat. In the past few years, Zayat’s rise to fame in the racing world has been nothing short of meteoric. He is now one of the leading owners in the racing world, but his shine has recently dimmed in the light of Eskendereya’s injury that forced the horse to withdraw from the Run for the Roses. And there’s that lawsuit, too.
As of last December, a bank filed a lawsuit claiming that Zayat “defaulted in $34 million in loans.†Since then, Zayat’s grip on the racing world has slowly slipped from his fingers. No longer can he afford to purchase multi-million dollar horses and name them after Jewish philosophers, like he did a few years ago when buying a year-old horse, called a yearling, for $4.6 million that he dubbed Maimonides. What does Zayat’s scandal mean for the racing world and the Jewish community beyond?
For one, it’s yet another Jewish individual involved in some sort of banking scandal. The name “Madoff†still brings cringes to mind. While I’m not suggesting that Zayat did anything on the level of Bernie Madoff, do we really need any more bad publicity right now? Why does it always seem to be the Jews who are mishandling money in the past few years? That’s a rather sweeping statement, I know. People of any religion shouldn’t steal, of course, but let’s save our fellow Jews some grief and keep our records clean, shall we?
Since the scandal broke, Zayat has had to reluctantly hand over the reins of his racing empire. He has filed for bankruptcy and plans to sell Eskendereya, who will hopefully continue racing. Being forced to sell 100% of such a magnificent animal must eat Zayat from the inside. I bet he wishes he hadn’t engaged in any illegal practices now! I don’t claim to know the specifics of his bankruptcy issue, but any man that blew through the millions he earned running a beer company can’t be the soundest man financially. I don’t know if Zayat deserves to watch his hard-earned winnings trickle away like this, but his predicament is a lesson to all of us.
Not only should we spend wisely, but we should keep the law in mind. I jaywalk like the rest of us, but maybe I’ll wait until the sign says, “Walk,†when I go to class tomorrow. A crosswalk is far from suing for money, but the law is still the law. Let’s learn what not to do from our fellow Jews who are in these predicaments.
