By T. D. Thornton
The owners of seven Thoroughbreds killed or injured in a Mar. 25, 2024, accident on the Bluegrass Parkway when a trailer driver allegedly fell asleep at the wheel and careened off the road while en route from Fair Grounds to Keeneland are suing the equine transport company and the driver in federal court, seeking “not less than” $3 million in compensatory damages and a separate amount in punitive damages that the plaintiffs want decided at a trial.
The collective owners of the three horses that perished and the four that were hurt–all from the barn of trainer Eddie Kenneally–stated in their complaint that the lawsuit “arises from the negligence, fraud and gross breaches and derelictions” of the defendants, Creech Horse Transportation, Inc. (a Missouri corporation with an office in Kentucky) and its employee driver, Guy Landmeier.
The complaint, which was filed Sept. 30 in a Kentucky state court but was removed to United States District Court (Western District of Kentucky at Louisville) Oct. 24 because it is a civil action against an interstate motor carrier involving a controversy exceeding $10,000, alleges that Landmeier had been driving for more than 11 hours at the time of the accident; that he had not taken a required 10-consecutive-hour break before his shift, and that Creech management had “impliedly and explicitly represented” that the shipping would be shared by two drivers who would be following all relevant rules and laws.
“Creech Horse Transportation knew or should have known that Landmeier had exceeded his permittable working hours [and] was fatigued and was unable to complete the trip in a safe manner,” the complaint stated.
In an Oct. 25 answer to the complaint, the defendants denied “any acts of deceit, oppression, malice, fraud and/or gross negligence.”
Creech and Landmeier stated in their legal filing that, “the damages alleged in the complaint may be the direct and proximate result of superseding and/or intervening causes over which Defendants had no responsibility or control.”
The defendants also stated in their answer that the plaintiffs “were knowledgeable shippers of Thoroughbred horses” and that they allegedly “were or should have been aware of time limits for filing claims and liability limitations for carriers,” which are common equine industry contract terms for the shipping of horses.
Creech and Landmeier stated that in this instance, the plaintiffs allegedly agreed to shipping terms “limiting liability to $5,000 per horse in exchange for a reduced charge for providing transport services.”
The owners of the seven horses–TSF Thoroughbred Racing, LLC; Insuraclaim, Inc.; Eddie Kenneally; Valerio Bloodstock Management, LLC; Showdown Kings II, LLC; Shaun McCarthy; Castleton Lyons, Inc.; Doug Arnold; Eric Kenneally; Kenneally Racing Stable, LLC, and Orpen Horses, LLC, (doing business as Double O Racing)–claim their damage calculations are based on losses from the equine deaths, the injuries and veterinary bills for the surviving horses, lost earnings from the inability to race, and personal pain and suffering.
The defendants, in response, stated in their answer that they want “judgment in their favor and [to] be awarded costs of suit, including attorney fees, as set forth in [the] bill of lading and terms and conditions of shipment.”
According to a social media post from the Bardstown Fire Department that TDN initially reported on the day of the accident seven months ago, when rescue units arrived on the scene of the 4:49 a.m. crash, “they found a tractor trailer on an embankment. The trailer, carrying Thoroughbreds, became dislodged from the king pin and ripped the cab of the truck from the frame.
“Crews extricated the driver from the vehicle in about 30 minutes,” the fire department stated. “The driver was flown to University of Louisville Hospital. Anderson County large animal rescue was dispatched to assist with the removal of the Thoroughbreds from the trailer. Removal of the Thoroughbreds took approximately four hours.”
The Bardstown Police Department's report–which was not available in the immediate aftermath of the accident, but was attached to the lawsuit as an exhibit–cited “fatigue, fell asleep, inattention” under the section listing “human factors” that allegedly contributed to the crash.
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