Anyone know this trainer?

[ageecee]

Burton Sipp-he was at thistledowns and now hes at Delta


What kind of trainer is he? What are his strengths and weaknesses?


You can PM if you like...

[Rokeby Forever]

I believe a weakness of his is that he went to prison.

[LaTroienne]

Here: http://www.boston.com/sports/other_spor ... he_saddle/

Back in the saddle
After getting run out of racing in three states, Sipp has settled in at Suffolk Downs

By Marc Carig, Globe Correspondent | August 20, 2005

''I'm through with racing. I'm not going to fight it anymore. I'm selling my track and getting out." -- Trainer Burton Sipp to the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1994, after Ohio racing officials revoked his training license a week after it was granted because he failed to mention prior legal troubles in his application.

A New Jersey judge once called him, ''A man whose lack of integrity is unimpeachable."

A Pennsylvania judge, in upholding a ruling that kept Burton K. Sipp off the grounds of the state's two thoroughbred tracks, called his involvement ''detrimental" to horse racing and his track record of violations ''deplorable."

During a 30-year career as a trainer, Sipp racked up violations the way Secretariat did victories. And in some cases, Sipp's alleged misdeeds were as impressive as the champion horse's winning romps.

Prosecutors indicted him for the death of nine racehorses in his care as part of an alleged insurance fraud scheme leading to a nine-year, worldwide ban from the sport.

Other alleged infractions stand out: race fixing, horse drugging, and threatening track personnel with physical harm.

Nevertheless, after numerous attempts through the years by various racing officials and fellow horsemen to keep him off the track, one of the sport's most notorious figures has beaten the odds again.

The Massachusetts State Racing Commission granted Sipp a license to train.

Since being awarded an elusive license in May 2004, Sipp has quietly taken advantage of the latest in a string of second chances, training horses at Suffolk Downs in East Boston.

''The management has been good enough to give me stalls," said Sipp, who launched his career more than three decades ago in the long-defunct New England thoroughbred circuit. ''As long as I'm welcomed back, I'll race here."

The homecoming has been moderately successful for the 61-year-old, who rose to become one of the nation's top trainers in the early 1980s before nearly losing everything in the aftermath of his exile from 1984-93.

He finished fourth in the Suffolk Downs trainer's standings last year and is second this season with 31 wins and $269,805 in earnings, mostly training horses owned by himself and his wife, Bridget.

Sipp's return has also been good for filling the struggling track's entry box, an industry-wide problem facing tracks, such as Suffolk, that don't allow slot machines. Sipp led all trainers last season with 390 starters and leads again this year with 263.

Most importantly, track officials said Sipp has stayed out of trouble, registering only two minor violations for giving an improper dosage of legal drugs to his horses.

State racing officials defended their decision to license the trainer who has registered at least 74 violations and 12 suspensions during his career. 'There's nothing in the rule book that keeps him from getting a license because he has a past," said Suffolk Downs chief of stewards Bill Keene, who led the three-person panel that reviewed Sipp's application. ''A lot of people at the racetrack have a past. It's that way with a lot of other businesses."

Other Suffolk Downs trainers contacted for this story refused to comment.

Meanwhile, Sipp, who has been run out of racing in three states in the last decade, said he is grateful for the chance to train again.

''Anybody can say anything about anybody," said Sipp, who attributes most of his troubles to personal vendettas. ''The judges making those statements don't know Burton Sipp."

Troubled brilliance
What's always been known about Sipp is that he has a knack for winning. His career has been spent in horse racing's minor leagues, far from the glitz and glamour of a Triple Crown chase. He emerged from rural New England racing to become a force at higher-profile tracks in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, claiming enough victories to become one of the country's winningest trainers.

He developed a talent for winning with cheap horses, a fact not lost upon the cigar-in-one-hand, Racing Form-in-the-other set.

By 1981, he was winning training titles at Philadelphia Park while contending for them at Atlantic City Race Course, Monmouth Park, and the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

But what's also been known about Sipp is that he's seen as many angry stewards as he has winner's circles. There have been numerous accusations and violations levied against Sipp throughout his career.

Some of the violations are minor, such as showing up late to the paddock before a race. Others, including a 60-day suspension in 1981 for giving an illegal anesthetic to a racehorse, were more serious.

Sipp continues to vigorously defend his record, dismissing most of the charges as groundless attacks on his character.

And he disputes most of the charges, including the drugging suspension, which he said resulted from the use of a legal topical ointment to treat the horse's injured foot.

''I've always tried to conduct myself like a gentleman on the racetrack," Sipp said.

However, his record indicates otherwise.

According to the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, Sipp's violations date to 1968, when the New Jersey Racing Commission fined him $200 for using abusive and obscene language to a racing official.

Still, Sipp's pattern of winning -- and questionable behavior -- continued through the years.

In exchange for dropping a 1981 race-fixing investigation, Sipp participated with New Jersey State Police in an undercover sting named ''Operation Glue." The operation yielded race-fixing indictments against three jockeys that were later thrown out when a judge ruled the investigation was an act of entrapment. District Court Judge Fred Golda harshly reprimanded state police for ''allowing a more culpable party an avenue for escape."Nevertheless, the trainer enjoyed a banner year on the track, sweeping the training titles for the winter, spring, and fall meets at Philadelphia Park

Even with his repeated run-ins with officials, Sipp kept his knack for finding the winner's circle. But the first signs of the scandal that ultimately led to his exile had started to emerge.

Indictment and a ban
In 1983, both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania State Police launched investigations against Sipp for suspicion of destroying horses for the purpose of collecting inflated insurance claims. The probes resulted in a Burlington County (N.J.) grand jury indictment for fraud, a charge Sipp denies.

''Every horse that died under my watch was worth $5,000 or $6,000, not $100,000," Sipp said. ''If you're in that business, you don't kill cheap horses."

In response to the indictment, the New Jersey Racing Commission indefinitely suspended Sipp's license. Because racing bans are reciprocal, the suspension applied to tracks worldwide.

He was officially blackballed from racing.

Three years later, Sipp pled guilty to witness tampering in connection with the ongoing insurance fraud investigation. The latter charges had been dropped in exchange for a guilty plea of the lesser charge. As a result, he received five years probation and a $7,500 fine, the maximum allowed by state law.

Once again, Sipp appeared to have found his way out of a tough spot relatively unscathed. But the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office stated that it had agreed to the plea bargain for one reason -- to remove Sipp from the New Jersey racing industry.

Sipp's future in racing looked bleak.

''When the suspension came, it brought me back down to harsh reality," said Sipp, who was prohibited from horse farms or even from attending a race.

The ban triggered a downward spiral in his life. Without the ability to train, Sipp, a self-proclaimed animal lover, turned his Springfield, N.J., horse rehabilitation center into a pet food store. The business evolved into Animal Kingdom, a 32-acre zoo that housed exotic animals, including tropical birds, tigers, lions, and giraffes.

In 1990, a Burlington County grand jury indicted Sipp on charges of deceptive business practices and attempted theft by deception, stemming from allegations two years earlier that he had staged a burglary at his pet store to collect insurance money for two exotic breeding birds that he claimed were stolen. Sipp returned the money when he learned that a friend contacted state police about the matter. Those charges were also dropped.

By 1993, Sipp had served his probation and applied for reinstatement. Though New Jersey officials wouldn't license him, they lifted the suspension, allowing Sipp to reestablish himself as a trainer.

The Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission granted Sipp a license. He was back in the game, but not before triggering a strong backlash of opposition from officials at the state's two thoroughbred tracks, Philadelphia Park and Penn National.

[ageecee]

What a great guy he is?




Anyone know if he had any positives at Thistledowns this year?

[Rokeby Forever]

I suppose everyone has their faults...maybe Mr Sipp is just misunderstood. LOL!

[doublete]

And here I thought the only place that would grant him a license was Suffolk Downs.

[hpkingjr]

Brings a whole new meaning to the term "Sipp and fall". Do you have a horse you don't like?

[TBLADY]

Mr Sipp was at MRN here a yr or so ago...met him, very friendly person his wife is very nice. He had a horse in which was owned by an old friend of mine and they had me ask about her. His price was way too high for her at the time but he did keep them in mind when he was through racing her.

As far as his horsemenship skill now...couldnt tell you other then his horses all were in beautiful shape and seeme happy and very content. I may still ahve his nimber around somewhere if you'd like it

[Foggytrip]

Im shocked anyone would have anything nice to say about him. This is a guy you want nothing to do with if you are involved in this game. PERIOD

[Foggytrip]

I just read that article... What a clown.

He said if your in the business of killing horses you dont kill a horse worth 5 or 6 thousand dollars. Hes absolutely right, you dont kill one horse, you kill 9 like he did.

Who would honestly even consider giving this guy a horse?

[kezeli]

Thats what I was thinking, also his winning ways are something to think about.........lots of drugs that don't test in those kind of trainers barns, and the horses always smell funny.

[Rokeby Forever]

Everyone deserves a 2nd chance...or a 3rd chance...or a 19th chance...or a 28th chance...

[Cree]

Oh My GOSH!
I see his name ALL the time at Barretts sales, he picks up a LOT of horses of racing age at their sales, mostly October & January & June.
Is his wife, Bridget? She buys a lot of Barretts horses too.

[Foggytrip]

yes thats his wife

[ageecee]

Did he have any positives at Thistledowns this past year?