Former PR Director Sues Santa Anita For Alleged Wrongful Firing Related To 2019 Horse Deaths Crisis

[Wandering Eyes]

Michael Willman, a former publicity director who worked at Santa Anita Park for nearly two decades, has sued the racetrack, its ownership, and several management executives, alleging that he was fired in March 2024 under the pretext of using inappropriate language when making an off-color joke to a subordinate, but that the “real reason” he was terminated was for refusing to participate in a purported cover-up of alleged mismanagement following a series of highly publicized horse fatalities that occurred at Santa Anita in 2019.

According to the civil complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Willman is seeking compensatory and punitive damages against Santa Anita and its owner, The Stronach Group (TSG).

Specifically named as defendants are Belinda Stronach (TSG's chairman, chief executive officer and president), Aidan Butler (the chief executive officer of TSG's 1/ST Racing and Gaming), and Amy Zimmerman (the senior vice president and executive producer for the media team).

Willman, 67, wants a jury trial and is suing for damages related to “lost employment income and benefits” and for “pain and suffering.”

Willman's lawsuit summarized his allegations:

“[Willman] was and had been the main point of contact for all the news organizations that were following the tragic surge in horse fatalities that erupted in 2019 and continued thereafter. As the evidence will show, Plaintiff's career was ended because Defendants knew he wouldn't lie or mislead the public, the regulators or the District Attorney of Los Angeles County, and defendants assumed, falsely, that at his age, they could destroy his career and his credibility and he wouldn't be able to fight back,” the complaint stated.

“Plaintiff, as a long-term employee who was loyal to the defendants, resisted those attempts to put out false narratives to deflect responsibility for the horse deaths. Plaintiff believed it was his legal duty to tell the truth or face possible prosecution for deliberately misleading government regulators, investigators and the public trust,” the complaint stated.

“Defendants directly and indirectly instructed Plaintiff to mislead government investigators, regulators and the public about what was really going on and at a minimum confuse and obfuscate so that the public would never find out the reasons why so many horses were dying,” the complaint stated.

“Defendants' attitude towards Plaintiff changed when Mercury Crisis Management was brought in by defendants to quarterback messaging in March of 2019,” the complaint stated.

Following a 2020 shutdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, when operations began again, “Plaintiff noticed a definite change of attitude from his superiors. They began looking for a justification to undermine his credibility and then to fire him,” the complaint stated.

On Mar. 5, 2024, Willman's suit stated, he was placed on administrative leave after a subordinate complained that he had made an off-color joke that offended the subordinate.

Seventeen days later, the lawsuit contended, Willman was “wrongfully” terminated for using the off-color language, and he was further accused “of using a derogatory term in reference to another Santa Anita executive” in a private conversation.

“The proffered justification for terminating Plaintiff's employment was completely pretextual and done to retaliate against Plaintiff and to destroy his credibility by then being able to claim he was a 'disgruntled' bad former employee,” the complaint stated.

“In doing the things herein alleged, the individual defendants acting for and on behalf of the corporate defendants, and with their full power and authority, acted with malice, fraud and oppression to defame and destroy Plaintiff's reputation and career doing everything in their power to make it as difficult as possible for Plaintiff to survive,” the complaint stated. “They even attempted to prevent Plaintiff from receiving Unemployment Insurance benefits.”

The defendants in the lawsuit have not yet filed a written legal response to tell their side of the story.

In response to a request for comment, Zimmerman told TDN that, “I welcome the opportunity to have the truth come out in the appropriate setting and at the appropriate time.”

According to the court docket, the next scheduled action is an Apr. 17 case management conference.

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