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Speaker 1: Welcome back to Playing Dirty sports Scandals. I'm Jay Harris,

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Speaker 1: your host and barista extraordinary if you like dark bruise.

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Speaker 1: That is, after all, when I serve up, you know

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Speaker 1: it's going to be a scandalous sports tale that doesn't

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Speaker 1: shy away from any of the jarring, juicy details. Over

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Speaker 1: the past twenty years of my career as a journalist

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Speaker 1: in sportscaster, I've hosted ESPN shows from Sports Center to

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Speaker 1: Outside the Lines. But I'm playing dirty. I am squeezing

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Speaker 1: every last drop from the shocking sports tales you crave.

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Speaker 1: There we go nothing like some dark red beet juice.

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Speaker 1: To foreshadow this episode, which delves into the bloody horse

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Speaker 1: murders scandal of the nineteen eighties and nineteen nineties, This

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Speaker 1: is one of the darkest chapters of equestrianism, a period

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Speaker 1: marked by deceit, cruelty, and the tragic demise of innocent

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Speaker 1: animals at the hands of those they trusted most. You see,

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Speaker 1: in the gilded world of equestrianism, all the money in

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Speaker 1: the world cannot guarantee champions because, more often than not,

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Speaker 1: winning comes down to the strength of the bond between

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Speaker 1: horse and rider. This partnership between man and animal is

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Speaker 1: a delicate dance of cues and responses, a testament to

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Speaker 1: the hours of training in mutual respect foraged between the species.

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Speaker 1: Over time, riders become attuned to their horses moods and needs,

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Speaker 1: understanding each flick of the year or shift of weight

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Speaker 1: as clearly a spoken word. In return, the horses allow

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Speaker 1: themselves to be guided by their riders. Together they move

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Speaker 1: as one entity, a union of strength and grace, captivating

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Speaker 1: equestrian fans around the world. Equestrianism, while it may not

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Speaker 1: have the same scale of followers as soccer, cricket or hockey,

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Speaker 1: does appeal to a wide audience, especially every First Saturday

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Speaker 1: in May when the Kentucky Derby is run at the

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Speaker 1: legendary Churchill Downs in Louisville. In this sport, names like

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Speaker 1: Man of War and Secretariat are as well known as

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Speaker 1: Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Jesse Owens and Tom Brady. The

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Speaker 1: horses are regarded as athletes in their own right, and

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Speaker 1: their backstories are often just as inspiring as those of

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Speaker 1: humans sports champions. For example, Snowman, dubbed the Cinderella Horse,

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Speaker 1: was famously saved from slaughter by his owner Harry de Layer,

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Speaker 1: only to leap to stardom as a champion show jumper.

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Speaker 1: Even forty two years after no Man's passing, Harry Delayer

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Speaker 1: gave CNN a glimpse into their special relationship. I feel

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Speaker 1: happy for every day that Snowman was in my life,

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Speaker 1: Delayer said. And even though several horse buyers approached Delayer

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Speaker 1: with offers for Snowman over the years, he refused to

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Speaker 1: be separated from his equine companion. I couldn't sell him,

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Speaker 1: Delayer explained. He'd given me everything. He still gives me everything,

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Speaker 1: even in his memory. But while a relationship like the

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Speaker 1: one shared between Harry Delayer and Snowman epitomizes that intangible,

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Speaker 1: incredible spark between rider and horse that makes equestrianism such

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Speaker 1: a compelling sport, many players overlooked that essential sentimental component

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Speaker 1: to focus exclusively on money. The equestrian market is big

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Speaker 1: business internationally. The sector is worth about three hundred billion dollars,

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Speaker 1: and even though it's not a water sport, that level

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Speaker 1: of financial attraction lends itself to serious sharks. After all,

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Speaker 1: competing horses represented convergence of passion, athleticism, and economics. The

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Speaker 1: acquisition of a promising horse is often a multi million

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Speaker 1: dollar affair, with breeders, owners and trainers all gambling on

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Speaker 1: the potential return that a champion can bring. To put

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Speaker 1: the stakes in perspective, the racing horse Fusaichi Pegasus was

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Speaker 1: purchased for seventy million dollars, Sharif Dancer was bought for

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Speaker 1: forty million, and Annihilator was acquired for nineteen million. Not

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Speaker 1: to mention the upkeep costs of these exceptional animals. Training,

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Speaker 1: healthcare and maintenance for a show jumper or racehorse can

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Speaker 1: run into the thousands of dollars each and every year.

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Speaker 1: Then you have to take into consideration the logistical costs

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Speaker 1: of transportation and entry fees for competitions that span the globe.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I shudder at the costs of international flights

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Speaker 1: nowadays for me and my human family members. But flying

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Speaker 1: a horse just one way tip cost five figures. So yeah,

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Speaker 1: there are big dollar amounts on the line for equine owners,

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Speaker 1: and there's a lot of pressure for investment recoupment on

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Speaker 1: the track. Does it all add up in the end, Well,

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Speaker 1: for most people, the gamble on horse showing and racing

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Speaker 1: doesn't pay off. There's even a joke often told in

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Speaker 1: racing circles, how do you become a millionaire owner? In

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Speaker 1: racehorsing start out as a billionaire. But just as gamblers

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Speaker 1: flock to Las Vegas, Macau and Mighty Carlo, despite stack

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Speaker 1: do odds, there are always equestrian chancers drawn to the tracks,

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Speaker 1: and for the lucky few who have the means to

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Speaker 1: own a horse and find themselves at the winning end

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Speaker 1: of a major event, the payoff can be significant. For instance,

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Speaker 1: the Dubai World Cup offers a staggering twelve million dollars

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Speaker 1: in prize money, while the pre Della Arcta Triumph boasts

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Speaker 1: over five million. In the realm of if show jumping,

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Speaker 1: the Grand Prix of Achan rewards competitors with prizes worth

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Speaker 1: over a million dollars. Naturally, the prize money is just

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Speaker 1: to tip of the iceberg. For winning horses and their owners,

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Speaker 1: a single victory in a prestigious race or competition can

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Speaker 1: skyrocket o horses value, increasing the value for breeding rights

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Speaker 1: given the thrilling long shot upside. Equestrianism is an enticing

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Speaker 1: gamble for many, but it's also at times a sickening

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Speaker 1: one because unfortunately, the commodification of horses necessarily introduces a

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Speaker 1: dark aspect to the sport. While many fans of the

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Speaker 1: sport revere horses as athletes, there are always going to

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Speaker 1: be some who view them merely as assets. A horse's

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Speaker 1: worth for owners with this mentality is intricately linked to

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Speaker 1: its ability to compete and win. This transforms these majestic, living,

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Speaker 1: breathing creatures into mere entries in an investment portfolio, where

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Speaker 1: the potential for profit often overshadows the spirit of what's

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Speaker 1: been called the sport of kings. And when you strip

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Speaker 1: all sentimentality from the equation, subordinating the fact that horses

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Speaker 1: are sentient beings to pushing for bigger and bigger financial returns,

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Speaker 1: that's when you get people playing dirty. Owners with money

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Speaker 1: at the top of their minds are motivated to push

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Speaker 1: unethical practices ranging from overtraining to the use of performance

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Speaker 1: enhancing drugs. Stuart Jenny, the chairman of the Jockey Club,

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Speaker 1: told sixty Minutes, that horse doping is a big problem.

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Speaker 1: It strikes at the integrity of the sport. It's not

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Speaker 1: good for the horses. There's just nothing about it that

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Speaker 1: is acceptable. An FBI agent Sean Richards agreed telling CBS

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Speaker 1: that it's completely wrong, you know, to pump these horses

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Speaker 1: full of stuff that you don't know what's in them

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Speaker 1: for a potential chance to win at a higher rate.

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Speaker 1: It's disgusting behavior. And while this disgusting behavior may increase

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Speaker 1: the likelihood of a win on the track marginally for

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Speaker 1: unscrupulous owners, it also increases the likelihood of their horse,

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Speaker 1: their asset, being injured or dying prematurely. So what do

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Speaker 1: people do when they want to protect an asset, and

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Speaker 1: particularly when they want to protect an asset that they

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Speaker 1: know is at high risk. Think about the homeowners on

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Speaker 1: Florida's coastline and the concerns around property damage from flooding.

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Speaker 1: Think about drivers who dare to get behind the wheel

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Speaker 1: were prior dui convictions. How do they sleep at night? Easy?

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Speaker 1: They take out insurance. And that is exactly what happens

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Speaker 1: in the world of equestrianism. Rudimentary insurance coverage for horses

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Speaker 1: has been available since eighteen ninety, but by the nineteen

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Speaker 1: eighties having horse insurance had become common practice for owners.

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Speaker 1: For the most part, this is just a sound precaution

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Speaker 1: for horse owners to have, very similar to how we

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Speaker 1: take out life insurance policies to protect our families financial

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Speaker 1: futures when we die. But you know what, every so

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Speaker 1: often someone tries to knock off their spouse for the

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Speaker 1: life insurance money. It's happened enough times that a quick

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Speaker 1: look at think Advisor pulls up a list of famous

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Speaker 1: cases in under ten seconds, from private Isaac Agigee murdering

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Speaker 1: his wife an unborn child for a five hundred thousand

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Speaker 1: dollars insurance payout, to Nanette Anne Packard conspiring with former

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Speaker 1: New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colt linebacker Eric Naposki to

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Speaker 1: murder her boyfriend Newport Beach mogul William McLaughlin for an

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Speaker 1: insurance check of five hundred thousand dollars. If some people

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Speaker 1: are willing to kill other people for insurance money, then

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Speaker 1: it doesn't take a leap to believe some equine owners

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Speaker 1: are willing to kill their underperforming or aged out horses

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Speaker 1: for the insurance money. It all started with the rumors

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Speaker 1: in the stables at the tracks. People were hearing murmurings

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Speaker 1: in the early nineteen eighties that it was becoming increasingly

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Speaker 1: commonplace for horses to be intentionally harmed or killed for

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Speaker 1: insurance payouts. But it was so horrible to think about

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Speaker 1: that most people laughed the gossip off at first, until

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Speaker 1: it couldn't be ignored. You see, evidence began to stack

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Speaker 1: up that this evil scam was really going on in

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Speaker 1: the shadows of some horse barns. Too many horses were

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Speaker 1: suddenly dying without explanation, and the equestrian community, which prided

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Speaker 1: itself on a glean of affluence and decorum, found itself

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Speaker 1: grappling with the possibility that some of its socially prestigious

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Speaker 1: members might be orchestrating the murders of innocent animals for

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Speaker 1: financial gain. Horrible though it was, the temptation was undeniably

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Speaker 1: there for morally devoid horse owners. After all, insurance payouts

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Speaker 1: on horses, particularly those with the potential to win big

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Speaker 1: on the racetrack or in show jumping competitions, could run

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Speaker 1: into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.

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Speaker 1: A scandal was brewing, bubbling over at an alarming rate,

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Speaker 1: as veterinarians and insurance investigators raised alarms about an unusual

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Speaker 1: pattern of injuries and deaths in valuable horses, making some

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Speaker 1: boiled lemon water. Here you know it's going to taste

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Speaker 1: sour with a horse murdered scandal on tap, But this

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Speaker 1: beverage fits the bill when it comes to feeling the burn,

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Speaker 1: and you're definitely going to need something to keep you going.

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Speaker 1: When I tell you about the ultimate burn, Tommy Burns

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Speaker 1: that is known in hushed tones among those in the

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Speaker 1: know as the Sandman. Tommy Burns carved a niche for

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Speaker 1: himself that was as lucrative as it was macab His moniker,

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Speaker 1: borrowed from the folklore figure who gently lulls children to sleep,

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Speaker 1: belied the grim nature of his newly adopted profession euthanizing

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Speaker 1: horses for in insurance money. Tommy became the go to

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Speaker 1: operative for owners seeking to transform their living investments into

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Speaker 1: lucrative insurance payouts through the most final means possible. How

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Speaker 1: does any child grow up to become a serial horse murderer,

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Speaker 1: you ask, Well, Tommy was born in Manchester, Connecticut. Was

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Speaker 1: it the easiest city to start life in? Maybe not?

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Speaker 1: After all, seventy four percent of US cities are safer

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Speaker 1: than Manchester, which has a D plus crime rating according

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Speaker 1: to crimegrade dot org. Even so, it's a beautiful part

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Speaker 1: of the country, and it's hard to imagine that anything

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Speaker 1: in Tommy's New England childhood could be used to explain

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Speaker 1: his ultimate career path. His parents did divorce when he

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Speaker 1: was young, and Tommy left home when he was about

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Speaker 1: fifteen years old. Needing to support himself, Tommy took a

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Speaker 1: job as a horse groomer for Barney Ward, the famous

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Speaker 1: show jumper and horse trainer who owned Castle Hill Farm

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Speaker 1: in Bruceter, New York. Tommy worked hard and aspired to

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Speaker 1: a more financially secure life. He knew he would likely

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Speaker 1: never come near the wealth of those whose horses he

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Speaker 1: cared for, but he was making progress, stepping out in

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Speaker 1: his off work hours to buy and sell horses independently,

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Speaker 1: to sell horse grooming and riding supplies, and to operate

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Speaker 1: his own horse transport services. You had to hand it

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Speaker 1: to him, Tommy was an industrious young man. It was

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Speaker 1: while he was working hard, both for himself and for

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Speaker 1: Barney Ward on the horse circuit that Tommy Burns cross

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Speaker 1: paths with a six foot two Harlow Arley, who would

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Speaker 1: become his assistant in the dark days ahead. At its core,

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Speaker 1: this scandal is a devastating tale of greed's ugly work.

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Speaker 1: You see, Tommy wanted more. Maybe it was being around

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Speaker 1: so many affluent people day in and day out, seeing

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Speaker 1: what they had, and hungering for a taste of it.

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Speaker 1: Who knows, but there's a powerful saying. Never be controlled

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Speaker 1: by three things, your past, money, and people. And to Tommy,

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Speaker 1: the Sandman Burns was destined to succumb to all three.

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Speaker 1: Like so many criminals, Tommy started making fast money with

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Speaker 1: smaller scale illicit activities, mostly dealing in stolen saddles and

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Speaker 1: veterinary equipment. Tommy also collected debts for his wealthy clients,

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Speaker 1: a task which could and often did get ugly. Michael Parrish,

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Speaker 1: a Midwest horses show official, remembered Tommy's evolution into a

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Speaker 1: tough guy. He carried a pair of brass knuckles, and

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Speaker 1: he collected debts. Michael remembered of Tommy's early side hustles

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Speaker 1: on the equestrian circuit. I don't want to use the

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Speaker 1: word enforcer, but if somebody owed money, Tommy was sent

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Speaker 1: to go get it. Tommy was a guy who had

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Speaker 1: no fear from selling stolen goods and collecting debts. Tommy's

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Speaker 1: criminal behavior escalated when James Druck approached him in nineteen

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Speaker 1: eighty one with a proposition. James Druck was a prestigious

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Speaker 1: attorney and the owner of Equal Nest Farm in a

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Speaker 1: Call of Florida. His seventeen year old daughter, Lisa Druck,

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Speaker 1: was a talented young equestrian who had a beloved horse

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Speaker 1: named Henry the Hawk. Since Lisa was under age and

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Speaker 1: had no control over her own finances, her father, James

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Speaker 1: held the purse strings, and he did not view Henry

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Speaker 1: the Hawk through a sentimental lens. James Druck turned a

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Speaker 1: blind eye to his daughter's love for a horse and

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Speaker 1: instead appraised Henry the Hawk solely as a failed investment

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Speaker 1: requiring swift recoupment. His first plan of attack was to

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Speaker 1: sell the horse for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

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Speaker 1: When the highest offer he received was only one hundred

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Speaker 1: and twenty five thousand, James decided to cook up a

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Speaker 1: new strategy using his very specific know how you see.

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Speaker 1: James Drug's legal practice often defended insurance companies against claims,

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Speaker 1: so he knew that if a horse were electrocuted, it

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Speaker 1: would be almost impossible for a veterinary pathologist to find

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Speaker 1: signs of foul play and that the animal's death would

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Speaker 1: be chalked up to colic And guess what Henry the

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Speaker 1: Hawk's insurance policy was for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Now,

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Speaker 1: James Druck was undoubtedly a dirty player with a heartless streak.

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Speaker 1: What parent plots the demise of their child's beloved animal companion?

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Speaker 1: After all, it's not like their family was in dire

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Speaker 1: financial straits by any means. In fact, Chip Hudson, a

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Speaker 1: veteran horse trainer who worked with Lisa Druck, told abcnews

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Speaker 1: dot Com that she was a regular kid with a

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Speaker 1: family with a lot of money. Her father commuted back

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Speaker 1: and forth in his own airplane. Does that sound like

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Speaker 1: a guy who's hurting for an extra twenty five thousand dollars.

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Speaker 1: Who knows how James Druck rationalized his dark decision, but

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Speaker 1: the fact remains he'd come up with a dirty plan.

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Speaker 1: And can you guess who he called up to do

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Speaker 1: his dirty work? None other than tough guy hustler Tommy Burns.

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Speaker 1: Tommy Burns had never killed a living creature before James

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Speaker 1: Druck approached him with the plot to kill Henry the Hawk.

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Speaker 1: Sure he'd swung some punches at people who owed his

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Speaker 1: client's money, and even broken a nose once on a

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Speaker 1: collection gig, but murder Tommy had no idea where to begin,

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Speaker 1: so allegedly James Druck taught Tommy Burns the dark trade

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Speaker 1: that would come to define his nightmarish activities over the

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Speaker 1: next decade. According to Tommy, years later, it was James

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Speaker 1: who purchased his first set of electrocution tools, and James

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Speaker 1: who meticulously taught him how to convert an ordinary orange

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Speaker 1: extension cord into a deadly weapon by splitting the cord

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Speaker 1: and affixing alligator clips to its ends. James Druck allegedly

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Speaker 1: demonstrated how to secure the apparatus to the horse, ensuring

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Speaker 1: immediate death upon plugging it into an outlet. You better

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Speaker 1: get out of the way, Tommy Burns recalled James, warning

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Speaker 1: him and so following the instructions of James Druck to

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Speaker 1: Earns murdered Henry the Hawk, a horse who so touched

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Speaker 1: the life of Lisa Drug who has since changed her

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Speaker 1: name to Reale Hunter, that as recently as October twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty one, she was posting tributes to him on Facebook.

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Speaker 1: My horse, Henry the Hawk was an amazing horse for

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Speaker 1: everyone who had him, a life changing horse, a blessing,

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Speaker 1: and a great teacher. Rielle remembered, Henry the Hawk changed lives.

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Speaker 1: He is still changing lives. He is still teaching. She wrote,

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Speaker 1: what a terrible tragedy for Henry the Hawk, for James

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Speaker 1: Druck's daughter, now called Reelle Hunter, and for people everywhere

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Speaker 1: who might have benefited from interaction with this beautiful animal.

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Speaker 1: Reale Hunter must have surely reeled when the truth about

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Speaker 1: Henry the Hawk's death came out, and her life ever

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Speaker 1: since has seemingly been dotted with extraordinary events, ranging from

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Speaker 1: alleged cocaine field nights in New York causing her to

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Speaker 1: be the inspiration for the film Bright Lights, Big City,

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Speaker 1: to getting clean and starting a foundation devoted to achieving

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Speaker 1: higher consciousness, to having an affair with married presidential hopeful

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Speaker 1: John Edwards. It seems Rielle was destined for a life

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Speaker 1: of extremes, and perhaps it was growing up in such

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00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,639
Speaker 1: an affluent but morally confused environment that contributed to some

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Speaker 1: of her more challenging moments. In any event, losing her

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Speaker 1: beloved horse, Henry the Hawk had a pivotal moment in

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Speaker 1: her equestrian journey and personal development could not have been

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00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:28,680
Speaker 1: easy for a girl who one groomer remembered as sad

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00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:35,800
Speaker 1: and troubled and desperately looking for something. Tommy Burns, meanwhile,

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00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,359
Speaker 1: had found a sole sucking solution to the something he'd

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00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:43,919
Speaker 1: been looking for. Money. He walked away from James Druck's

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Speaker 1: stables with the terrible new knowledge that there was a

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Speaker 1: market for equine murder and that he could line his

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00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:52,960
Speaker 1: pockets by becoming the go to guy for horse snuffing.

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00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:57,040
Speaker 1: Tommy Burns had evolved into the Sandman, and after his

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00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,640
Speaker 1: first kill in nineteen eighty one, no horse safe from

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Speaker 1: his fatal business as they slumbered in their stables. The

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00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:08,879
Speaker 1: fatal business is stomach churningly awful to contemplate. If you

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00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:12,240
Speaker 1: ask me, it's even more difficult to swallow than straight

307
00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:14,879
Speaker 1: up clamado juice, which, for those of you who don't know,

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00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:21,560
Speaker 1: is a grimy concoction of clam and tomato juice. But

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00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,480
Speaker 1: just because a business is gross doesn't mean it isn't booming.

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Speaker 1: As Tommy the Sandman Burns learned fast, there was no

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Speaker 1: lull in his line of work. Not ever, there was

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00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:37,399
Speaker 1: always a horse owner willing to subordinate sentimentality to money

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Speaker 1: in the equestrian world, where so many dripped class around

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Speaker 1: the tracks, but harbored, ugly, uncivil secrets were left to

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Speaker 1: their own devices. Per The New York Times, Tommy Burns

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00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:52,040
Speaker 1: earned about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars between nineteen

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Speaker 1: eighty one and nineteen ninety one killing horses. Tommy told

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Speaker 1: reporter Don Terry that if he had taken all the

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00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:01,400
Speaker 1: offers to kill horses that came his way, the death

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00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,720
Speaker 1: toll would have been closer to fifty He also said

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00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:07,240
Speaker 1: that his typical fee was at least five thousand dollars

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00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,879
Speaker 1: a horse, but that he once got forty thousand. Even

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00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:13,879
Speaker 1: Tommy was astonished by the length horse owners or willing

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00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:17,440
Speaker 1: to go to cash out on their equant investments. People

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Speaker 1: get paid less for killing people, Tommy mused. During his

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00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,760
Speaker 1: decade long death spree, Tommy Burns ended the lives of

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Speaker 1: between thirteen and fifteen horses across the equestrian show circuit,

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Speaker 1: stretching from Staples in Florida to Vermont to Illinois and

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00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:37,840
Speaker 1: everywhere in between. Demand peaked in nineteen eighty nine, according

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Speaker 1: to Tommy, when these millionaires get tired of them, they

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00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,720
Speaker 1: throw the horses away like broken toys. I killed three

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Speaker 1: horses in one week. He later confessed. It's madness right.

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Speaker 1: Why were so many millionaires opting for such a cold

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00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:57,120
Speaker 1: hearted end to their horses lives? According to Tommy, owner's

335
00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:00,399
Speaker 1: decision to end a horses live stemmed from various actors,

336
00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:05,840
Speaker 1: performance issues, health complications, or simply the animal's age. Tommy

337
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,800
Speaker 1: also rationalized his own actions to some degree, insisting that

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00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,800
Speaker 1: the horses died too fast to feel any pain. Knowing

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00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,399
Speaker 1: this apparently made him feel better. He even went so

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00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,200
Speaker 1: far as to insist to the press that his heart

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00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,040
Speaker 1: was not made of stone. Whenever he killed the horse,

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00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,960
Speaker 1: Tommy explained he had to get drunk first. My motive

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00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:28,399
Speaker 1: for killing horses was to make money, he said. For

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00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:31,639
Speaker 1: the owners, it was just rotten, cheapness at its worst.

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Speaker 1: Regardless of his rationalization, it's undeniable that Tommy and the

346
00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:41,040
Speaker 1: horse owners were guilty conspirators. But what about everyone else?

347
00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:47,480
Speaker 1: According to equestrian insiders, everyone knew or at least strongly suspected,

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00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:51,200
Speaker 1: what was going on. There were whispers whenever Tommy turned

349
00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,400
Speaker 1: up at a horse show carrying his canvas bag kill kit,

350
00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:57,600
Speaker 1: but no one dared to confront Tommy given his reputation

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00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:01,639
Speaker 1: for violently collecting debts. After all, how would such a

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00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:05,880
Speaker 1: man respond to a horse murder accusation. The elite equestrians

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00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:09,360
Speaker 1: uninvolved in Tommy's dirty circuit shuddered to consider what would

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00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,720
Speaker 1: happen if they dared speak up. People knew what was

355
00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,920
Speaker 1: going on, a prominent West Virginia horseman revealed years later,

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00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:18,719
Speaker 1: when Tommy arrived at a show, they would say the

357
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,760
Speaker 1: Sandman was around. They knew a horse would be put

358
00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:26,520
Speaker 1: to sleep. Electrocution as a means of murder worked instantly,

359
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,160
Speaker 1: which was something that Tommy could at least rationalize to himself.

360
00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,400
Speaker 1: But in nineteen ninety one, he was given an assignment

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00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,879
Speaker 1: that even he couldn't stomach, so he called upon his

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00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:41,320
Speaker 1: assistant Harlow Arley for help. Now, they say that criminals

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00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:44,359
Speaker 1: often get caught when they deviate from the norm, and

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00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:48,120
Speaker 1: what transpired on February second, nineteen ninety one, were certainly

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00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:52,960
Speaker 1: not Tommy Burn's norm. It all started when Donna Brown,

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00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,040
Speaker 1: the ex wife of renowned horse trainer Paul Valier's former

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00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:59,520
Speaker 1: associate Buddy Brown, hired Tommy to break the leg of

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Speaker 1: her horse, a chestnut jumper named Streetwise. Her cold hearted

369
00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:08,159
Speaker 1: logic was that Streetwise's insurance policy didn't cover Colic, and

370
00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:12,400
Speaker 1: therefore death by electrocution wouldn't work. Since the post mortem

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00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,959
Speaker 1: would attribute the horse's death to Colic, she needed a

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00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:19,840
Speaker 1: different kill strategy. Donna Brown figured that a horse with

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00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:24,080
Speaker 1: a broken leg is almost always euthanized since it's almost

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00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:28,040
Speaker 1: impossible to rehabilitate this equin injury, so that is what

375
00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:32,240
Speaker 1: she wanted Tommy to do. Tommy, tempted by the money

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00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:36,000
Speaker 1: Donna offered, took the job and then asked Carlow Arley

377
00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:38,680
Speaker 1: to carry out the actual deed for half the feet.

378
00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,520
Speaker 1: Remembering the hours leading up to their brutal attack on

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Speaker 1: street Wise, Tommy says he lamented to Harlow in a bar, saying,

380
00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:50,879
Speaker 1: I don't want to break his leg. I'm not into that. Allegedly,

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Speaker 1: Harlow was less concerned about putting an animal through a painful,

382
00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:58,960
Speaker 1: drawn out demise, and so aligned on their unthinkably cruel strategy.

383
00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:04,320
Speaker 1: They took a crowbar and headed to Canterbury Farms. It

384
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:07,840
Speaker 1: was a stormy Florida night, and Tommy and Harlowe believed

385
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:10,800
Speaker 1: that the rain worked to their advantage. It would cloak

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00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:15,640
Speaker 1: their actions in plausible deniability. Right After all, it could

387
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:18,720
Speaker 1: appear that street Wise had simply slipped on a slick

388
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:21,399
Speaker 1: ramp as they were loading him into a transport truck

389
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,919
Speaker 1: and broken his leg that way. Yes, it seemed to

390
00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,200
Speaker 1: the two criminals that they had covered their tracks well,

391
00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:33,840
Speaker 1: But this time they underestimated karma and law enforcement. You see,

392
00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:37,200
Speaker 1: investigators had received too many tip offs about Tommy Burns

393
00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,760
Speaker 1: to ignore him any longer. Florida's authorities were ready and

394
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,399
Speaker 1: literally lying in wait in the pouring rain at Canterbury

395
00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:48,520
Speaker 1: Farms on February second, nineteen ninety one. From the shadows,

396
00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:53,360
Speaker 1: the investigators watched in helpless horror as Tommy Burns restrained

397
00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:58,159
Speaker 1: street Wise while Harlow Arley emerged, crowbar in hand to

398
00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,359
Speaker 1: crack the horse's leg with a terrible blow. The sound

399
00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,720
Speaker 1: of the crowbar making contact was heard across the highway.

400
00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:10,960
Speaker 1: Street Wise's panic Nazze tore through the silence, a sound

401
00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:14,359
Speaker 1: of pure distress that echoed into the night as the

402
00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:19,240
Speaker 1: horse in agony attempted to flee, only to fall and

403
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,120
Speaker 1: rise again in a feudal attempt to escape the pain.

404
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:27,760
Speaker 1: Harold Berry, a Florida Department of Agriculture investigator doing surveillance

405
00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:31,040
Speaker 1: that night from a nearby horse trailer, says he still

406
00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:35,280
Speaker 1: can't forget that sickening crack and then Streetwise's screams as

407
00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:39,040
Speaker 1: he staggered into the darkness on three legs. Speaking to

408
00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:42,600
Speaker 1: the Tampa Bay Times three years after the tragedy, Harold

409
00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:45,960
Speaker 1: Berry explained, I could not stop it even if I

410
00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:49,639
Speaker 1: wanted to. I was too far away. People ask me,

411
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,960
Speaker 1: how could you let them do that? But you've got

412
00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,920
Speaker 1: to know the whole picture. Look at what we brought down.

413
00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,440
Speaker 1: And Harold Berry was right to point this out, because

414
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:04,880
Speaker 1: while street Wise's terrible maiming and ultimate death was devastating

415
00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,760
Speaker 1: and cruel, it was not in vain. The authorities who

416
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:13,359
Speaker 1: had witnessed Tommy Burns and harlow Arley's horrific enterprise descended

417
00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:17,919
Speaker 1: on them swiftly with lights, sirens, and handcuffs. Faced with

418
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:22,200
Speaker 1: the heavy legal ramifications of his actions, harlow Arley promptly

419
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,600
Speaker 1: turned against Tommy Burns, confirming the entire horse murder plot

420
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:30,800
Speaker 1: to investigators, and despite a lame attempt to flee the scene,

421
00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:33,960
Speaker 1: which was quickly thwarted. It was clear that Tommy Burns's

422
00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:38,320
Speaker 1: grim rain as the Sandman was over for good. In

423
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,680
Speaker 1: the murky aftermath of his arrest that night, Tommy Burns

424
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:45,800
Speaker 1: became an unlikely lynchpin in unraveling a deep, dark web

425
00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:50,359
Speaker 1: of equine insurance fraud that had ensnared the equestrian world.

426
00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:55,000
Speaker 1: The FBI recognized that while Tommy had undeniably been the

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00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:58,320
Speaker 1: executor of the crimes committed, he had not been the

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00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:02,560
Speaker 1: brains and money behind the spate of horse murders. Tommy

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00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:04,840
Speaker 1: Burns turns out to be the tip of the iceberg,

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00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:09,120
Speaker 1: remarked one federal agent, hinting at the scandal's vast scope.

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00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,640
Speaker 1: With his back to the wall and all his affluent

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00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:17,400
Speaker 1: employers suddenly failing to answer his calls, Tommy Burns decided

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00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:20,720
Speaker 1: to save himself with a lighter jail sentence by cooperating

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00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:24,239
Speaker 1: fully with the FBI. The New York Times reported that

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00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:28,280
Speaker 1: the only reason Tommy Burns is cooperating with federal agents

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00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:32,000
Speaker 1: investigating deadly acts of cruelty and fraud and the glittering

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00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,760
Speaker 1: showhorse business is that those rich skunks he worked for

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00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:38,800
Speaker 1: turned their backs on him the second he got busted

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00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:42,640
Speaker 1: doing their dirty work. Harlow Arley confirmed what The New

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00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:46,800
Speaker 1: York Times reported, sharing that Tommy Burns was calling everybody,

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00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,080
Speaker 1: and nobody came to his aid. It was this lack

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00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:52,920
Speaker 1: of response from the so called pillars of the equestrian

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00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,240
Speaker 1: community that led Tommy to reveal the extent of their

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00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:59,959
Speaker 1: complicity and the twisted scheme that prioritized profit over the

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00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:04,240
Speaker 1: well being of the magnificent animals they claimed to cherish.

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00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:09,040
Speaker 1: The Sandman felt abandoned by his wealthy, powerful clients. I

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00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:11,520
Speaker 1: did all their dirty work, Tommy told one in a viewer.

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00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:16,160
Speaker 1: Now it's payback time. And so Tommy Burns laid bare

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00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:19,280
Speaker 1: the mechanics of the fraud for the joined investigative efforts

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00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:23,680
Speaker 1: of the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and the Bureau of Alcohol,

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00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:28,240
Speaker 1: Tobacco and Firearms. He named prominent individuals in the horse

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00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:32,480
Speaker 1: show industry, from owners and trainers to veterinarians and riders,

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00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,560
Speaker 1: who had engaged in or facilitated the nefarious practice of

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00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:41,920
Speaker 1: killing horses for insurance payouts. As details emerged, it seemed

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00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:45,000
Speaker 1: that up to forty individuals would be ensnared in the

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00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,840
Speaker 1: legal net cast by the investigation facing indictments on a

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00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,240
Speaker 1: slew of charges related to horse killings for insurance money,

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00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,440
Speaker 1: and the words of American author Sarah Rash, how quickly

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00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:01,240
Speaker 1: the mighty fall. Nothing is going to make such a

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00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:05,640
Speaker 1: sickening scandal palatable. But let's try some diluted cranberry juice

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00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:10,880
Speaker 1: to settle our stomachsh down the hatch. Well, I still

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00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,800
Speaker 1: feel nauseous and furious, but at least I know that

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00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:15,920
Speaker 1: one of my favorite ingredients is going to be served

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00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,960
Speaker 1: up when we delve deeper into the scandalous story. Next week,

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Speaker 1: Justice join me your host Jay Harris for the next

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00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:26,400
Speaker 1: episode of Playing Dirty Sports Scandals when we find out

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00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,760
Speaker 1: how Justice caught up with the equestrian moguls who thought

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00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:43,560
Speaker 1: they were above the law. Playing Dirty Sports Scandals is

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00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:47,520
Speaker 1: a production of Dan Patrick Productions, Never Ever Productions and

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00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:52,800
Speaker 1: Workhouse Media from executive producers Dan Patrick, Paul Anderson, Nick Panela,

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00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:57,400
Speaker 1: Maya Glickman, and Jennifer Claring. Hosted by Jay Harris, Written

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00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:01,200
Speaker 1: and produced by Jen Brown, Francy Haiks, my Eglctment and

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00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:02,000
Speaker 1: Jennifer Claire