In what will be one of the best sports business stories of the year, a judge in Kentucky ruled today that 400 people have the rightful claim to a piece of Curlin, the horse that won the Preakness Stakes in May and the Breeders Cup Classic on Saturday.

The people were bilked out of money by lawyers who handled litigation over the diet drug fen-phen. Those lawyers owned 20 percent of the horse. Curlin has won $5.1 million in nine races.

So let's say that those people eventually do get that 20 percent of Curlin. How much do they really make?

Well, if those people just won the Curlin money, they'd have to split $1,020,000 between them, which come to $2,550 each. But even that wouldn't be right. Don't forget, the horse has expenses. So, in this case, the story seems much better than the actual pay out, which would probably figure in the negative.

Questions?  Comments?