Spoke too soon?

Published: May 5, 2009 12:34 pm EDT

I perhaps spoke too soon when I said that Mine That Bird’s upset win in the Derby on Saturday might bring some favorable public attention on racing.

Well, it brought attention, but perhaps not the kind that the horse’s connections would like. A story by Ed McNamara in Newsday pointed out that the Derby winner’s co-owner Mark Allen paid off a legislator in Alaska to gain favor for the now-defunct oil-field services firm VECO Corp.

And who testified that Mark Allen had paid off a legislator?

His father Bill Allen, founder of VECO.

The two men were involved in the corruption trial of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens from Alaska that led to Stevens losing his bid for reelection last fall. Stevens was found guilty, but the prosecutors are now under investigation for serious breaches of legal procedure.

Father Bill Allen pleaded guilty to bribing an Alaska legislator in 2007, McNamara writes in his article, but he won immunity for his son’s action in a plea bargain arrangement.

Let’s take nothing away from the horse. Mine That Bird won the Derby fair and square. I just wish that post-Derby stories didn’t have to point out an owner’s misdeeds to reinforce the unsavory reputation of racing.

Well, at least now maybe we understand why all those guys in the winner’s circle on Saturday wore black hats.

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