By Ben Massam
Trainer Martin Wolfson has been ruled off the Gulfstream Park property due to his inability to meet financial obligations. As first reported by Daily Racing Form, the ruling was issued by track management after the veteran trainer was unable to adequately pay for the care of his horses in recent months, general manager Billy Badgett confirmed Wednesday afternoon.
“It's a difficult situation,” Badgett said. “It was more or less over financial obligations–as a trainer, you're supposed to meet those requirements, and he wasn't doing it. It was more or less a management decision.”
Badgett said Wolfson had seven horses remaining in his care and, to his knowledge, all of them were moved to the care of trainer Danny Gargan at nearby Palm Meadows Training Center.
“The horses were relocated,” Badgett said. “He's not ruled off for life by any means. We're hoping he can get himself together and get back into it. It's just for right now until he can get himself into a position financially to pay the help right, pay the feed man right, pay the blacksmith right.”
Wolfson's horses have made six starts in 2018 with a runner-up finish and two third-place efforts. His most recent success came with the mare Curlin's Approval (Curlin), who won three graded stakes events at Gulfstream in 2017. Her final start under Wolfson's care was a victory in the GII Princess Rooney S. July 1–after which she began competing under the name of owner/trainer Happy Alter. Wolfson has won a total of 1,682 races in his career, with 2006 champion turf horse Miesque's Approval (Miesque's Son) and MGISW Chaposa Springs among his most notable trainees.
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