Azeri part of Paulson dispersal

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Azeri, the leading candidate for the 2002 Horse of the Year title, will be sold as part of a dispersal of the racing holdings of the Allen Paulson Living Trust at the Barretts March sale of 2-year-olds in training, the Paulson family announced on Monday.

The March 4 sale of approximately 20 horses of racing age at Barretts in Pomona, Calif., will be the first phase of a four-step dispersal of the racing and breeding holdings of the Paulson Trust.

Over the weekend, the trustees of the Paulson Trust, Michael Paulson and Nicholas Diaco, agreed to an out-of-court settlement on the terms of the dispersal, according to a press release issued by Narvick International, which will manage the sale of the horses. In recent months, members of the family had been involved in litigation for the dispersal and management of the Trust's horses.

The other three phases of the dispersal will take place at Keeneland in the second half of 2003. The Trust's yearlings will be sold in September, while broodmares and weanlings will be sold at the November sale.

According to the statement, the trust's holdings in stallions will be sold privately.

Azeri is by far the most notable horse who will be sold. A 4-year-old filly, Azeri won 8 of 9 starts in 2002, and has a seven-race winning streak.

On Oct. 26, she won the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Arlington Park.

According to the agreement, Azeri and the other horses of racing age cannot race again until the sale.

Azeri has not started since the Breeders' Cup, but was scheduled to stay in training as a 5-year-old in 2003. That now depends on who buys her.

The March dispersal will also include the stakes winners Del Mar Show and Startac, 13 3-year-olds, three 2-year-olds, and other horses of racing age. Grade 1 winner Astra also will be sold, but it hasn't been determined whether she will be sold at Barretts or Keeneland.

Since the death of Allen Paulson in July 2000 at the age of 78, the family has been reducing its breeding and racing holdings. Paulson bred and raced Cigar and won Eclipse Awards as outstanding breeder in 1993 and outstanding owner in 1995 and 1996.

Said Michael Paulson, the son of Allen Paulson: "The dispersal is kind of sad and melancholy because of my father. We wanted to keep my father's legacy alive and I think we've done a hell of a job. He left us with some great horses."