The soured relationship between the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and its key benefactor, the Paul Mellon Estate, withered further Jan. 5 when the TRF sued an executor of the endowment for libel and slander.

Attorney Frederick A. Terry Jr., with the international law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, is named individually and as an executor as the defendant in the suit filed with the Supreme Court of New York, New York County.

"As part of a misguided attempt to wrest control of the TRF from its Board of Directors and management, the Executors have engaged in a campaign of vilificaition of the TRF, including publication by Defendant Terry of false and defamatory allegations of impropriety to the TRF’s auditors, the Office of New York Attorney General, and others in the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry," stated the suit.

The final straw that led to the legal action was a Nov. 10 letter from Terry stating that the TRF’s annual financial report dated Dec. 31, 2010, was "incomplete and misleading" and that the TRF had improperly secured a loan by pledging future revenues from the endowment. The letter was also sent to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman