Fairmount Park Horse Owners, Trainers Sue Over Finances

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) –A group of horse owners and trainers are suing a southern Illinois equine organization’s leaders over what they call inadequate financial oversight and excessive secrecy.

Twenty-two members of the Illinois Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association seek the ouster of president John Wainwright and executive director Lanny Brooks. The association represents several hundred horse owners and trainers who compete at Fairmount Park in Collinsville.

The Madison County Circuit Court lawsuit seeks an audit of the group’s records to account for more than $3 million from state impact fees that were in an association bank account in 2010.

The plaintiffs also question the use of money withheld from their Fairmount Park purses for a nonprofit effort that encourages adoption of retired race horses.

Brooks denied the allegations but declined further comment.

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